These Four Heirs
by RodeRozen
Summary: There are not one, but two Dark creatures among the Marauders. Oh, and all four of them are descended from the Founders. This can only spell trouble... Features non-evil!Wormtail, vampire!Sirius, Wolfstar and Jily. People, Wolfstar means SLASH. Don't like, don't read. For now it's a T, but that could increase in the future! ON HIATUS, CHECK MY PROFILE FOR MORE INFORMATION
1. Y1 - Chapter One

**Story Title:** These Four Heirs

 **Summary:** There are not one, but two Dark creatures among the Marauders. Oh, and all four of them are descended from the Founders. This can only spell trouble... Features non-evil!Wormtail, vampire!Sirius, Wolfstar and Jily

 **Warnings:** Blood, I guess. Not much, though. A panic attack, too. Oh, and a single insinuation.

 **Rating:** T

 **Disclaimer:** I am not JK Rowling. No profit is being made from this, and no infringement of copyright is intended. I am in no way affiliated with the author of Harry Potter. The Potterverse does not belong to me.

 **A/N:** Who can spot the reference?

Anyhow, well, this is the first chapter.

-MWPP-

HISTORY - FLASHBACK

They all felt it when Salazar left the castle. Four days he'd stayed. No one knew what he'd done, but now he was gone for good. For even if he returned, they would not let him.

"He really is gone," Helga quietly said.

"That he is," Rowena agreed.

"We need to do something," Godric stated. "In a century or two, his descendants will return, and they will undoubtedly be purebloods."

"How about we ask the Hat for advice?" suggested Rowena.

" _Accio Sorting Hat_!" the remaining three founders said together. Immediately, the Hat came flying into Godric's outstretched hands.

"Hat, we have a problem."

-MWPP-

1st SEPTEMBER 1971, WEDNESDAY

' _Legend has it that the cause of the rift between Salazar Slytherin and the other Founders was caused by a disagreement over their marriages. Supposedly, they had decided, three to one, to all marry either a Muggle or a Muggleborn. Salazar Slytherin, who valued blood purity above all else, left the castle four days after this agreement was struck. He died a month after leaving. Despite not having conclusive evidence, many historians have concluded this must be because the Founders made use of a magical vow, since the first Descendant of Slytherin was born nine months later. Exactly one century after Helena Ravenclaw, the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, was born, all records pertaining to ancestry and descendants of the Founders were wiped blank, most likely made Unseenable until-"_

A knock on the door of his compartment made Remus drop the book he was reading. Quickly, he stuffed it back into his trunk, calling out:

"Come in!"

A short, lean boy with hazel eyes and impossibly messy hair entered the compartment, dragging his own trunk behind him.

"Can I sit here?"

"Sure, go ahead," Remus said, feeling rather awkward. He hadn't expected this, and self-consciously stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"How did you even manage to keep it empty here? Everywhere else is packed to the brim!" The boy chattered away happily, oblivious to, or maybe just ignoring, Remus's discomfort.

"I dunno, you're the first one who knocked on the door. It's like the others can't even see me."

The other boy shrugged.

"Well, if it means we can actually hear ourselves here, I don't really care. I'm James, by the way. James Potter."

"Remus Lupin."

"Strange name. I think my dad once told me a Muggle legend about twins, Remus and Romulus."

"Really? Never heard of it," Remus lied. He had, in fact, heard of the legend before, and hated it, since it was about wolves. Ever since he'd been bitten he hadn't even been able to look at their dog. Eventually a cousin of his mother adopted the poor thing. It had gotten really scared every time Remus walked into the room. Werewolves and animals generally weren't a good match.

"Want me to tell it to you?" James excitedly asked. Oh, shit. How did one deal with these situations?

"Eh, no thanks?" It came out more like a question. James's face seemed to harden. Remus inwardly sighed; he'd obviously offended the boy. Flushing, he looked down at his feet.

A few tense moments later, the door once again slid open. Another black-haired boy entered without speaking a word, chin tilted just a little too high, back a little too straight. His eyes were as dark as the night, with a hint of red in them. They reminded Remus of a Blood Moon. He'd experienced only one, and it had been highly unpleasant. Shivering, he soundlessly watched the staring contest the new boy was having with James. A sneer was on the latter's face, though Remus didn't understand why. Barely ten seconds later, James grudgingly broke eye contact, scooting half a metre to the right, away from Remus. The new boy nodded, and snapped his fingers.

"Kreacher!" It were the first words he'd spoken, and immediately, a house-elf appeared. It was dressed in a satin pillowcase with some kind of crest embroidered on it.

"Take care of my luggage." His voice was deep, as if he'd already hit puberty. In fact, the boy looked to be around seventeen. Remus wondered what he was doing with a couple of first-years.

"Of course, Master Sirius," the elf replied, bowing. Sirius. It seemed to fit, somehow. Haughty and aristocratic, because anyone who paid attention could see this boy was from a, if not noble, then certainly very well-off family. It oozed out of his pores.

The elf, who must be named Kreacher, efficiently stowed the expensive-looking trunks away. Why in the world did that boy have multiple trunks? Couldn't he just leave most of his stuff at Hogwarts? It was then Remus noticed Sirius did not have a Hogwarts House Crest pinned to his robes, meaning he was a first-year. This seemed very strange, for he was much more mature than the average first-year.

Another knock came just as Sirius was sitting down in the spot James had recently vacated.

"Could I come in?" a timid voice asked. When neither James nor Sirius seemed to think they should, maybe, be replying, Remus sighed and answered:

"Of course." Why did he, the socially deficient person, have to deal with this? He'd only wanted to read his book in peace, and now he was surrounded by these nutters!

A small, chubby boy came in, hesitantly looking around. James flat-out ignored the newcomer, and Sirius just gave him a glare before deciding this mousy child wasn't worth his time. Dear Merlin, Remus hoped he wouldn't be forced to room with them!

-MWPP-

"Black, Sirius!" Professor McGonagall called out. Sirius sauntered over to her, sneering at the ridiculous seat reserved for the Sorting. A short, wooden stump. How common.

As elegantly as he could, he sat down and waited for the Hat to be put on his head, certain he was about to become a Slytherin.

"Hmm...what have we here? Oh, I know just what to do with you..." the Hat mumbled. Sirius thought nothing of it, and did not respond to the vile object. How many Mudblood heads had it touched!

"Tsk, tsk, that's no way to think...NEXT!"

Huh? He wasn't given his House?

"Come on, Mr Black, go sit over there. Don't look so stumped, this happens every once in a while. Next is..."

-MWPP-

"Remus, Lupin!" Trembling, Remus went to sit down. He could have sworn McGonagall briefly smiled at him when he passed her by.

The Sorting Hat was placed over his head.

"Ah, yes, the werewolf. Dumbledore's told me about you," a voice spoke in his ear. Remus fervently prayed the Hat wouldn't reveal that to anyone else.

"No need to worry, I only reveal a House. Or, in your case...NEXT!"

What the bloody hell? Stumped, he sat beside Sirius, wondering what was happening.

-MWPP-

"Pettigrew, Peter!" Please, not Slytherin, not Slytherin, was all Peter could think as the Hat sank down over, swallowing his head whole.

"The third one...there may be hope for you yet, boy, so I think...NEXT!"

Okaaay. At least he'd seen the other boys who were skipped before. That was something.

-MWPP-

James almost missed his name being called, so preoccupied he was with the redheaded girl currently holding a rather one-sided conversation with a greasy boy, who seemed to be gawking at her.

"POTTER, JAMES!"

"Eep! Yes, Professor?"

"Get over here, Mr Potter."

Saluting, James did as he was told, and soon the Hat was on his head.

"It seems you are the fourth, and also the...HEIR OF GODRIC GRYFFINDOR!"

A stunned silence followed the Hat's announcement.

"Dear students and staff, it seems what many thought impossible has finally happened. Minerva, may I ask you to proceed with the Sorting?" Dumbledore calmly announced, eyes twinkling.

-MWPP-

Remus felt rather dizzy as he was asked to come forward once again. He was bright, this he knew, and if James had been one of the four Founder's heir, that meant there were probably three others.

He strongly suspected those three others were Sirius, the mousy boy, and himself.

Which was a bit problematic, seeing as he really, really did not need attention focused on him. Someone might put two and two together, which would then get him expelled.

"Don't worry," the Hat whispered in his ear, "it'll be fine. The four of you were meant to be, HEIR OF ROWENA RAVENCLAW!"

Oh, hell. As Remus took his place next to James behind the Sorting Stool and Hat, it was all he could do not to vomit. Panic attack, panic attack, panic attack.

-MWPP-

What did this mean, Peter wondered. Now, unlike what many people thought, he wasn't stupid, just socially limited. In the safety of his head, however, he was quick-witted and really rather sharp. He had therefore come to the same conclusion as, unbeknownst to him, the tawny-haired boy.

They were the four heirs. Peter also knew he was the-

"HEIR OF HELGA HUFFLEPUFF!" the Sorting hat yelled. Yes, that.

-MWPP-

This can't be happening, Sirius thought. He had wanted to be in Slytherin, yes, but to be his Heir? Someone would notice what he was, he was sure of it. The spotlight really wasn't healthy for him.

"You'll be fine," the Sorting Hat promised. "Keep Lupin close to you, HEIR OF SALAZAR SLYTHERIN!"

Keep Lupin close to him? What the hell?

Dumbledore stood up again.

"Many of you are probably wondering what is happening. As some may have concluded, the Sorting Hat was tasked with the duty to find four compatible heirs. According to legend, these heirs must be in the same year, and each found worthy by the Hat. Since Mr Black, Lupin, Pettigrew and Potter are these four heirs, they will not be Sorted, nor will they belong to a particular House. They can sit wherever they wish during meals, with the exception of the staff table, of course." A couple of students snickered. Dumbledore went on:

"A dorm of their own should have appeared somewhere in the castle, which the ghosts are already attempting to locate. None of you are permitted to enter that dorm, as we do not know what kind of protective spells were put on it by the Founders. Enough said; enjoy the feast!"

While everyone dug into the meal, Sirius strode toward the Slytherin table, hoping his anxiety didn't show. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lupin walking toward the Ravenclaw table, eyes downcast, while the Potter boy joyfully went to sit with the Gryffindors, and Pettigrew scuttered off to the Hufflepuffs.

Back straight, chin up. Hold your utensils like you would a quill. Elbows next to your body. Swallow, even if it's disgusting. He repeated this mantra in his head while pretending to enjoy the food, clinging to his father's familiar words. It was a side-effect of the potion he took to control his thirst; his parents had told him often enough that once he could drink from a mate, normal food would stop looking, and tasting, like hippogriff dung.

Not that the prospect of a mate was all that appealing, of course. He might look seventeen, but he really wasn't. The things his body got up to sometimes...

-MWPP-

"This looks just like a normal dormitory," James remarked. Remus eyed him strangely.

"How would you know that?" he hesitantly asked, not having forgotten their run-in on the train.

"Oh, my Dad showed me some pictures. It's the same, really, except for the colouring."

"Oh."

The colouring, was, indeed, not something that would be found in the dorm of a House. Four beds stood in a round chamber, each quarter of the circle having been decorated in different colours. Blue and bronze for him, silver and green for Sirius, red and gold for James, and yellow and black for Peter. In the centre of the room, much like the inside of a donut, a second circle had been drawn, with translucent walls around it. Remus suspected that was the bathroom. He could only hope those walls had been charmed with a see-me-not spell, which would turn them black whenever someone was inside.

"'Night, guys," mumbled Peter, already lying in his bed.

No one replied.

-MWPP-

5th SEPTEMBER 1971,

Remus felt sick. In the five days he'd been here, the cold from the hallways and castle had seemed to seep into his bones.

The dormitory, where he was currently lying on his bed, wasn't warm, either. Tension chilled anything even remotely cosy, which wasn't much. Students stared at him in the hallways, and the other Heirs weren't much help either. As far as he could tell, Peter had some sort of social anxiety preventing him from making friends, Sirius was an arrogant prat, and James...he wasn't sure how he felt about James. They'd gotten off to a bad start, which caused Remus to be quite scared of initiating any sort of contact with him. On the other hand, he seemed rather nice.

Tonight was the Full. He'd be meeting Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, at four thirty, and she'd escort him to the Whomping Willow, which, presumably, had a passageway built underneath of it.

He had no idea where he'd be going, and could only hope it was secure. Even so, he was more nervous about this unknown nurse. Maybe he had a social disorder, too, he wryly thought. Still, would she be disgusted of him? Would she refuse to walk within an arm's length of him? If that was the case, he wasn't looking forward to being healed by her.

Though it would probably be a nice change, since his Dad usually just left the wounds to heal themselves, afraid he'd cause more damage. Only on the really bad moons did he use his wand to speed the process up a little, and even then he only did enough to get Remus out of life-threatening danger. It was probably best that way. His dad was a very competent wizard, but any sort of healing spell... St Mungo's wasn't really an option either, as none of them liked being stared at like they were filth. Well, people mostly stared at Remus. His family wasn't well-liked for keeping him, though.

The day dragged on and on. When it was finally time for him to meet Madam Pomfrey, Remus was almost relieved. At least it would be over soon.

"Mr Lupin?" the nurse asked as he slowly walked into the infirmary.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good to see you. Follow me, please," she said, smiling, before escorting him out of the castle. Once they were no longer within earshot of anyone in it, she began explaining:

"I expect you to go to the Willow on your own from now on. Meet me at a safe distance from the trunk, because Merlin knows that thing is a safety hazard, at least forty minutes before moonrise. I'll walk with you to the Shack, which is where you'll be transforming, and secure the entryway so you can't get out.

"Come morning, you are not to move at all until I am there, in case anything in your back is broken; that could paralyse you if it isn't treated before moving. Don't worry about the mess; someone'll clean that up later. Do you have any questions?"

By now, they were standing in front of the Willow.

"No, Ma'am."

"Okay, then. _Wingardium Leviosa_!"

-MWPP-

6th SEPTEMBER 1971, MONDAY

Remus stumbled back to the dorm, breathing heavily. Everywhere he went, students stared at him. Scrutiny like that was truly the last thing he needed. Hoping against hope his dormmates would be out, he opened the door.

And stumbled over something. Looking down, he saw it was a...broomstick? First years weren't allowed to have those! He decided that, since the bandage on his wrist had become a deep red, he'd worry about it later. Where was that potion Madam Pomfrey had given him to use if anything kept bleeding?

Drip, drip. Blood leaked out from under the bandage and fell on the floor. Remus groaned. How was he going to explain that?

Was anyone even here? If he remembered correctly, James had gone to watch Quidditch tryouts, and Peter...no idea where he was, but he was definitely gone. The boy really needed to shower more often. You could usually smell him from miles away.

That left Sirius. Shit, shit, shit. There was just something about him that made Remus uneasy, though he couldn't really pinpoint it.

"Uh...is anyone there?" he hesitantly called out. Drip, drip. Darn it, he'd probably need to go back to the Hospital Wing to let Madam Pomfrey fuss over him some more.

"Go 'way," a muffled voice said.

He frowned. That wasn't like the haughty boy at all. For once, he sounded his age.

"Are you okay?" he questioned, moving forward to get to his trunk. Hadn't his mum given him some bloodclotting potion? He seemed to be losing everything today!

"Don't come any closer!" Sirius yelled. Remus halted in his steps.

"I need something in my trunk, Black."

"Go the other way 'round!"

"I'm bleeding, you idiot! I need to get a bloodclotting potion!" he snapped, patience starting to wear thin. Drip, drip.

"Oh Merlin, don't say that!"

In, out. Drip, drip. In, out. Keep breathing.

"Why not? Unless you give me a proper reason in, like, five seconds, I'm walking past you." Drip, drip.

Suddenly the curtains were torn apart, revealing Sirius. He looked slightly different, though. For one, his eyes were glowing a blood red, and fangs were peeking out from between his lips. Remus felt like laughing and crying at the same time. Two of the four Heirs were Dark creatures! Oh, what would Hogwarts be pleased.

It didn't even occur to him to be afraid. After all, lycanthropy and vampirism were mutually exclusive. Once you had one, you couldn't get the other.

"Forgot to take your potion, did you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Sirius was visibly taken aback.

"How do you...never mind. Get out of here!"

"No. I need that potion- damnit, Black! Get off me!" he shouted. As soon as he had taken one step in the direction of his trunk, Sirius had jumped on him, pinning his two wrists to the floor. Hungry, red eyes looked down at him, reminding him so much of Greyback's he had to do his best not to vomit. Drip, drip. The sound was really getting on his nerves.

"Sirius," he calmly said, hoping the vampire would be startled by the use of his given name and back off, "please get off me. You're making it rather difficult to breathe, and- OUCH! That was my rib, watch your elbows!"

Sirius, with his impossibly developed body, though not so impossible given what he was, really shouldn't be lying on top of Remus, who was rather scrawny. And what was Sirius's wand doing inside his pocket?

"S-sorry! But I can't, you smell so good!"

It suddenly occurred to Remus that vampire saliva had healing properties. Hm. That might be an idea, seeing as how he felt like he was going to faint any minute now.

"Fine! If you won't get off, would you please heal the wound on my wrist? I'm losing way too much blood!"

Sirius's eyes got as wide as saucers.

"Are you serious? You could get infected!"

"No, you are. And I won't get infected, trust me." Shit, he shouldn't have said that. It was a clue for anyone attentive enough to pick it up.

Luckily, Sirius's brain was clouded enough by bloodlust, which was probably why he didn't notice the pun, either.

"Okay. Okay." Hesitantly, as if afraid his prey might leave, the boy lifted his right hand. When Remus stayed perfectly still, he tore the bandage off and put his mouth right over the gap where the wolf had bitten his own flesh off.

The sensations this produced were actually quite enjoyable; a light sucking and some tingling, nothing too intense. If this was what an aphrodisiac was like, he didn't understand all the fuss. Maybe the books on vampires were talking about something else?

Soon, and despite Sirius's best efforts to keep it open, the wound closed, healed without so much as a scar.

Remus considered bottling some of that saliva to prevent future maiming of his body.

As soon as Sirius seemed to notice there wasn't blood any longer, he growled softly and opened his mouth, presumably to strike. With inhuman strength, Remus put his right hand on the vampire's shoulder and forcefully pushed him back. Pulling himself up on Sirius's bed, he panted:

"Where do you keep that potion of yours?"

"Under my bed," Sirius shakily replied, startled by Remus's strength, maybe – after all, it shouldn't have been possible for him to push Sirius away –, or just by his own actions. Ducking under the bed, Remus found a large trunk. He quickly pulled one blood-red vial out of it and handed it to Sirius.

"Drink," he softly told him. Wordlessly, the vampire obeyed.

While he was drinking, Remus gently guided the obviously distraught boy to sit on his bed. With his wrist healed, he was in no hurry to leave, anyway, and feeling like a monster was something he was all too used too.

Eventually Sirius removed the vial from his lips and set it down on his nightstand.

"I'm sorry," he quietly said.

"It's okay. Hey, are your whole family vampires?"

"Uh, yeah, they are. Well, the adults and the boys, anyway. The women have children first and are turned afterwards. You're really not afraid of me?"

Remus's heart broke. It was something he could so easily picture himself saying, should their situations be reversed.

"As long as you don't go 'round biting everyone in Hogwarts, I'm fine with it," he assured Sirius, slowly putting one arm around him in a loose hug. The other boy squirmed a bit, but then seemed to settle down, sighing heavily.

"I'm trying not to, but it's just...the smells are everywhere here. It's so hard to resist!"

"Maybe you should remember to take that potion," Remus suggested, lips quirking.

"Yeah, but I can't when you lot are here."

"Ah," Remus nodded, understanding the problem. Sirius looked at him with beseeching eyes.

"How about I help you with that? I'm sure I can hide their toothbrushes somewhere they'd never think to look..." He was unaware of it, but his eyes were sparkling with mischief.

Sirius burst out laughing.

"That'd be great. Friends...Remus?"

"'Till the very end, Sirius."


	2. Y1 - Chapter Two

**Story Title:** These Four Heirs

 **Summary:** There are not one, but two Dark creatures among the Marauders. Oh, and all four of them are descended from the Founders. This can only spell trouble... Features non-evil!Wormtail, vampire!Sirius, Wolfstar and Jily

 **Warnings:** Not actually much. 11-year olds fighting. Vampire-related stuff, but I don't have to warn you about that every time, do I...?

 **Rating:** T

 **Disclaimer:** I am not JK Rowling. No profit is being made from this, and no infringement of copyright is intended. I am in no way affiliated with the author of Harry Potter. The Potterverse does not belong to me.

 **A/N:** Uh, yeah. The second chapter, ta-da!

-MWPP-

7th SEPTEMBER 1971, TUESDAY

The next morning, Remus was up early. Smirking, he walked to the bathroom, where he used a simple Sticking Charm to attach all toothbrushes to the ceiling before showering and dressing.

By the time he got back, all three boys were awake.

"Merlin, Remus! How early did you get up?" Sirius asked him.

"About fifteen minutes ago, since you lot take ages in the bathroom." James and Peter both looked rather stumped, trying to figure out what they had missed. Remus had to do his best not to laugh. Seeing his amused expression, James frowned.

"I will figure out what is going on here, Lupin. C'mon, Pete!" Now Remus was frowning, not quite agreeing with the treatment of the younger boy. Before he could say anything, however, the two were gone.

"Poor Peter," he sighed. Sirius looked at him strangely.

"What d'you mean?"

"Well," Remus began, a bit uncomfortably, "he's practically being forced to tagalong with James!"

"He's choosing to do so himself," Sirius pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Where did you hide their toothbrushes, anyway?"

"On the ceiling," grinned Remus. "Bet they'll never think to look there."

"Thanks. Uh, do you mind...?"

"'Course not, go ahead." Smiling gratefully, Sirius disappeared under his bed. How he managed that, was a mystery, seeing as the beds were designed to grown along with their occupants, and Sirius's bed was decidedly low to the ground in order to give him more room inside of it.

"Woo, I am the bed-bug monster!" Startled, Remus yelped.

"Sirius! Do you want me to die of a heart attack?!"

"Sorry," the vampire mumbled around the flask stuck to his mouth, sticking his head out.

"LUPIN! WHERE'S MY TOOTHBRUSH?!" James suddenly yelled. Sirius quickly hid back under the bed, leaving Remus to handle the situation.

"How would I know that? Maybe you just misplaced it." Sauntering into the bathroom to go 'help', Remus feigned surprise when looking at the toothbrush holders. And the one razor holder, which was Sirius's, because the only place the rest of them had hair was on their head.

"Peeves, maybe?" he suggested, knowing perfectly well the poltergeist couldn't go anywhere other than the halls and grounds. "I'd hardly steal my own toothbrush, now would I?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at James.

"I guess not. Oi! How did you brush your teeth this morning?" the messy-haired boy asked in suspicion.

"I didn't, not before breakfast."

"Oh. Yeah."

"I'll leave you to it," Remus said, leaving the confused duo behind.

"Did they fall for it?" Sirius excitedly asked as soon as he was within earshot.

"Totally. Ready to go?" he inquired, stuffing the last of his books into his bag.

"If I really have to."

-MWPP-

"Sirius!" Remus pointedly hissed into his friend's ear. "Bat spleens, not Aconite!" Startled, Sirius dropped the Aconite onto the floor. Well, at least it hadn't fallen into the cauldron. Honestly, those ingredients weren't even the slightest bit alike!

"Sorry!"

"Excellent, Miss Evans, truly marvellous!" the teacher called out. A red-haired Gryffindor stood blushing under his praise.

"Thank you, Sir."

Remus thought he heard Sirius mutter "Show-off," and shook his head. The girl obviously hadn't done anything to draw attention to herself, except for being extraordinarily gifted at Potions, which wasn't something she could help.

Speaking of things you couldn't help...he risked a glance sideways to see how Peter was doing.

"Would you like some help?" he asked as gently as possible, noticing his potion was becoming increasingly volatile. "I think that's about to explode."

Peter squawked, moving backwards. Smiling at him, Remus walked over to the boy's cauldron and attempted to stabilize the potion. After adding a few ingredients, it quieted down.

"There. I don't think it'll be exactly like in the book, but at least it's not in danger of exploding any longer." He smiled at Peter. "You were doing pretty good, really, it's just that adding Aconite causes this potion to become extremely unstable. Sirius almost made the same mistake."

"Oi!" Sirius complained from a few cauldrons to the left. "I didn't!"

"Yes you did, and I only stopped you just in time."

Peter gave him an unsure smile, quietly mumbling his thanks.

Returning to his own cauldron, Remus quickly became alarmed by what he saw.

"Sirius, did you stir it clockwise?"

"Uh, yes? Wasn't I supposed to?"

"How many times?"

"I don't really know."

"It's supposed to be purple by now."

"Oh."

"Yes, 'oh'. Can't I leave you alone for one minute?" Remus grumbled, not really meaning it. Though not a full day had passed since their post-moon exchange, they'd already formed a comfortable friendship. He didn't know how it was possible, but they just...fit. As soon as Sirius dropped his I-am-a-Black-bastard persona, he was loud, rowdy, and just generally all over the place, Remus's totally opposite. Even so, Remus knew both of them hid things underneath their façades. Not only the heavy secret of their conditions, but also a different side of their personalities. Sirius could be so vulnerable and scared, while Remus had a devilish sense of humour, as they'd discovered this morning.

Remus had no doubt there was much, much more to them than either boy knew.

"No, you can't. I'd die from sadness." Sirius's words shocked him out of his reverie. With some alarm, he saw their potion was still pink.

"Whatever. Do you happen to know how to turn the potion purple?"

"Unlike some people, I have not tried to learn all my schoolbooks by heart."

"It's right in front of you!"

"So it's also right in front of you."

"Ugh. Why am I doing all the work again?"

"Because you love me!" Sirius happily announced, doodling hearts on the desk.

It was a rather disturbing sight, really.

-MWPP-

"Hey, is that Peter?" Remus questioned, nudging Sirius.

"Yeah, it is. What's he doing here?" They were sitting in the library. Remus was writing an essay for Potions. Sirius had no idea why he'd already started it, as the stupid thing wasn't due 'till next week. For his part, he was trying to discover if there were any comic books in the library. He'd always wanted to read one of those, but his parents wouldn't be caught dead with them. They weren't here though, and what could it hurt?

Both of them watched as the small boy approached their table.

"I wanted to, uh, say thank you. For helping me with my potion, you know." Peter was speaking to Remus while shooting furtive glances at Sirius.

"You're welcome," Remus smiled. "Isn't James with you?"

"I, well, I ditched him."

Sirius unsuccessfully tried to hide a snicker behind his hand, making Peter jump.

"I'll just go now," he nervously said.

"Sure thing. Oh, and Peter?"

"Yes?"

"You're always welcome here," said Remus kindly. A small smile graced the boy's features, before he scuttered off.

"He's really timid," Sirius remarked.

"I think it's some sort of social anxiety," sighed Remus, bending forward to scan his essay.

"What's that?" He'd never heard of it. Probably some Muggle thing.

"Oh, it's a term Muggle therapists use. It means he's scared to interact with other people." Yep, a Muggle thing.

"I see," Sirius said, easily dismissing the matter.

"You know," Remus nervously said, "just because something's Muggle doesn't mean it's inferior to Wizarding stuff. In fact, Muggles have accomplished quite some impressive things, such as airplanes..."

Sirius listened to his friend drone on about the merits of Muggle things, and scoffed.

"Please, you're kidding." When Remus opened his mouth to protest, he cut him off by saying:

"Whatever. I'm going to ask Madame Pince if she's got any comic books."

Two minutes later, Remus was snickering while a furious Madame Pince chased Sirius out of the library with a dictionary.

-MWPP-

"I still can't believe she did that!" Sirius complained. The two of them were lying on Remus's bed, dressed in their pyjamas. Well, at least Sirius was. Remus usually slept without a shirt, but he wasn't quite comfortable revealing his scars to Sirius. Or to any of the others, for that matter, which was why he always put on a long-sleeved shirt to hide the scars.

"Did you not use correct grammar or something, seeing as she was chasing you with a dictionary?"

"No," Sirius scowled, "apparently she refuses to stock comic books because the grammar in those is, I quote: 'Abhorrent, a true scandal!'."

Both of them burst into fits of laughter at the on-spot imitation of the librarian's nasal voice.

"Oi! Keep it down over there, would you!" James yelled, making more noise than both of them combined.

"Whatever," Sirius yelled back. "You're not commandeering me, Potter!"

Remus groaned, barely audible. This was sure to start a fight if he didn't do anything.

"We'll see about that, Black!" James snarled. By now, both boys were standing in front of Sirius's bed.

"Stop it!" Remus snapped, grabbing Sirius by the arm and pulling him back.

"And who do you think you are to tell me to stop, Lupin?" Remus closed his eyes, concentrating on his breathing. In, out, in, out.

"The one who'd rather not get a detention for fighting. Come on, Sirius." Grudgingly, the vampire followed him back onto the blue bed.

"You really shouldn't let him rile you up like that, you know," Remus sighed.

"I do, it's just so hard!" Sirius complained, running a hand through his hair.

"He's a little bit spoiled, I think."

"A little bit?" snorted Sirius. "Bastard's probably been mollycoddled all his life!"

"Shh! Do you want to start another fight?" Remus cautioned, leaning back onto his elbows.

"Maybe?"

"Wrong answer, try again."

"No, I do not want to start a fight, oh holy one."

"Prat!"

"Hey now, you wound me," Sirius mocked, trying his best not to snicker.

"Do I?" asked Remus, a very unholy glint in his eyes.

"What are you planning?" Warily, Sirius scooted backwards a bit. Falling onto the bed, Remus started laughing.

"Fooled you!"

"Oh! You- you-"

"I what?"

"PILLOW ATTACK!" Sirius yelled, snatching up Remus's pillow and beating him with it.

"No fair! 'S only one pillow!"

"Too bad for you, then."

Remus narrowed his eyes, tugging at the pillow.

Which tore neatly down the middle, making feathers rain all over his bed, and causing the two boys to yelp.

"It got in my hair!" Sirius wailed.

"So remove it!"

"But it's IN MY HAIR!"

"It's only a feather, Sirius!"

"IN MY HAIR!"

"You're hopeless."

Absorbed in their banter, neither boy noticed Peter sneaking up on them, holding his own pillow in front of his face. When he let out a small noise, both Remus and Sirius turned around in a fluid motion, hands out in front of them. Upon seeing it was only their dormmate, they relaxed slightly.

"You scared us, Peter," Remus said.

"S-sorry!" Peter squeaked.

"It's okay. What's up?" From behind Remus, Sirius huffily crossed his arms over his chest.

"I w-was just wondering if I'd be allowed to...join?" Peter cowered just a little bit, clearly afraid. Trying his best not to look threatening, Remus smiled and tugged at his arm, causing the smaller boy to fall face-first on the bed, right on top of Sirius.

With some alarm, Remus noted Peter's neck was right in front of Sirius's mouth, whose eyes were starting to turn rather red.

"I'm so sorry!" he hurriedly apologised, pulling Peter back into a sitting position. Sirius, he saw, was still rather transfixed on his neck. Subtly kicking his friend in the shin, Remus smiled sheepishly at both of them.

"'M okay." Peter mumbled.

"Yeah. Yeah, me too," Sirius hurriedly added, shaking his head as if to clear it. "I...I left something in the bathroom." With that, he bolted from the room. Remus buried his head in his hands. This was his fault, all his fault. In, out. In, out.

Peter hesitantly laid a hand on his arm.

"Is Sirius okay?"

"He'll be fine. Just a bit startled, I think." Remus tried to smile at Peter even though the lie didn't sit well with him. But it wasn't his secret to tell. He wouldn't want anyone to know about his condition, either.

"Maybe you should...go after him?" Peter timidly suggested.

"I will. You're sure you don't mind?"

"Go ahead," the small boy said, a smile beginning to form, "I'll survive."

-MWPP-

"Sirius?" a voice softly called out. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bathroom door opening.

"Go away, Remus," he said, rather harshly.

His friend entered anyway, pulling the door shut behind him.

"I'm sorry."

Bugger, Remus was blaming himself for this. In the span of a day, he'd already discovered the boy had a habit of doing that.

"It isn't your fault."

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Remus wryly asked. "But it is, Sirius. I should have been more careful."

"And I should be able to control- it."

"You're only eleven. Surely they don't expect you to...?" Sirius turned around to face his friend, temporarily forgetting his eyes would be red and his fangs out.

Two seconds later, he caught himself, and covered his face with his hands, mortified.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." he trailed off when Remus kneeled in front of him, gently prying his hands away.

"Shh. I don't mind, it's okay." The tawny-haired boy wrapped his arms around Sirius, who stiffened completely, not knowing what to do or where to stuff his own. Noticing this, Remus pulled back, frowning.

"Are you all right?"

Having no idea what to say, Sirius quite suddenly hugged Remus again, burying his face into his neck. He knew the other boy could probably feel his fangs, but right now he didn't care. He'd let go in a minute, he promised himself.

He was rather surprised when Remus returned the hug, resting his face on Sirius's shoulder.

-MWPP-

When he felt tears leaking into his shirt, Remus frowned. He wasn't doing anything special. Nevertheless, he gently rubbed circles up and down Sirius's back, remembering his mum doing that to him after the Full.

Eventually the other boy pulled away, wiping a few tears on his sleeve.

"Sorry," he mumbled in embarrassment. "It's just...I've never been hugged before."

"We'll have to remedy that, then," said Remus softly, pulling his friend back to him, briefly wondering if he should feel embarrassed about cuddling with another boy.

After a while, he gently let the vampire go, checking his eyes and mouth to see if they were in the clear. Apparently noticing this, Sirius chuckled softly.

"I'm fine, we can go back."

Caught, Remus looked up. "I-I wasn't...I was just making sure..."

"It's okay, I would've too."

Right then, a loud whimper sounded from behind the door.

"Hell," muttered Remus, jumping to his feet and running into the dorm.

"Peter," groaned Sirius, following after him.

Upon seeing Peter cowering against the wall between his and James's bed, Remus let out a soft growl and charged forward.

"Potter! What the hell are you doing?!" Sirius yelled.

"Teaching this one a lesson, that's what!" James snarled. Having reached Peter, who was now standing behind him, Remus took a step forward in James's direction.

"And may I ask how you were teaching it?" he snarled. Sensing danger, the messy-haired boy backed away, holding his hands up.

"You know," he mumbled, looking away.

"I don't know," Remus stated, "but I'm sure Peter will tell me. Get out, Potter."

"You can't just-" James started to protest, but was cut off by Remus bellowing:

"YES I CAN! GET OUT!" Yelping, James ran off, slamming the door on his way out.

Standing with his head down, hands fisted at his sides, Remus tried to concentrate on his breathing. He would not let his temper get the best of him. In, out, in, out.

"Remus...?" Sirius hesitantly inquired. "You okay?"

Forcing a smile, he looked up.

"I just have a nasty temper, nothing serious."

Luckily refraining from making a pun about that last part, Sirius frowned.

"If you say so."

"Thanks," Remus sighed. "Pete, are you alright? What did he do to you?"

"N-nothing!" the small boy squeaked.

"Don't lie to me," snarled Remus. "I've had quite enough bullshit from James!"

"Remus," said Sirius firmly, "calm down, you're scaring Peter."

"Right. Right, sorry." In, out. I am not a wolf.

"That's ok," whispered Peter, looking like he was about to wet himself.

With an enormous effort, Remus forced his anger to subside.

"It isn't. If I'm scaring you, it's not okay."

"It...isn't?"

"Of course not," Sirius spoke up, frowning. "Why would it be?"

"...dunno."

"Let's all just go to bed, yeah? We've classes tomorrow," Remus wearily suggested.

"'kay. 'Night, Remus, Sirius."

After Peter had retreated to the bathroom, Sirius stared at him.

"Sirius? What is it?"

"Nothing," the vampire replied gruffly, tearing his gaze away from Remus.

"Okay? Goodnight," he softly said, still mildly confused as to why his friend was acting this way.

When he finally closed the curtains around his bed, Remus was very glad to be rid of his pyjamas. Ugh, stupid things.


	3. Y1 - Chapter Three

**Story Title:** These Four Heirs

 **Summary:** There are not one, but two Dark creatures among the Marauders. Oh, and all four of them are descended from the Founders. This can only spell trouble... Features non-evil!Wormtail, vampire!Sirius, Wolfstar and Jily

 **Warnings:** Transformed werewolf, mild injury, blood, character peeing their pants, vampire-related stuff

 **Rating:** T

 **Disclaimer:** I am not JK Rowling. No profit is being made from this, and no infringement of copyright is intended. I am in no way affiliated with the author of Harry Potter. The Potterverse does not belong to me.

 **A/N:** Aaand the third chapter is here! The reveal is a lot earlier than in (and quite different from) canon, but I promise it plays into the plot and character development later!

-MWPP-

14th SEPTEMBER 1971, TUESDAY

Beep, beep, beep.

What in the world was making that noise, Remus wondered.

Beep, beep, beep.

SHIT! It was his alarm clock, which meant...

Checking the clock in question, he discovered that, indeed, they had classes in forty-five minutes. Now, normally this would have been plenty of time, but unfortunately for him, he also had to get Sirius – and sometimes Peter – up. Secretly, he hoped James would sleep in and get scolded by Professor McGonagall, who was really, really strict.

With a resigned sigh, Remus threw the covers back, hastily pulling a t-shirt and pyjama bottoms on,

only to fall face-first onto the floor. Merlin, they'd lived here for two weeks and it was already becoming rather difficult to see it!

Pushing himself back up, he padded over to Sirius's bed after noticing the others had already gone to breakfast, carefully pulling the covers back so as not to startle the boy.

"Sirius!" he hissed. "Sirius, wake up!"

"Lemme sleep!" was the answer he got, along with a hand pushing at his shoulder. Remus smiled, mildly amused.

"You're going to be late for classes if you don't wake up, you know," he conversationally remarked, feeling under the bed for one of the blood-replacing potions. Removing the cork, he waved the flask in front of Sirius's nose, hoping the smell would wake him up. No such luck, though. Recorking it, he stowed the flask under the bed again.

"Please don't bite me for this," Remus muttered, before clamping his hand over Sirius's nose and mouth.

Sure enough, barely three seconds later the vampire snarled and pierced Remus's hand with his fangs. Luckily, it wasn't too deep.

"Fuck!" he swore, slapping Sirius in the face. "Let go, idiot!"

Bleary eyes blinked up at him, before the sleeping boy seemed to register there was something in his mouth. Spitting it out, Sirius wiped his mouth with his hand.

It was then that he woke up fully, and, seeing the blood on his hand, screamed, looking from Remus's bloody hand to his own.

"Hush!" hissed Remus, "you'll wake up Peter!"

"I-I-I'm so sorry! What...what happened?" Sirius looked like he was trying not to panic.

-MWPP-

"You wouldn't wake up, so I cut off your breath. Obviously, that was a bad idea." Remus nonchalantly said. Sirius felt his eyes might fall out of his head. His friend should be infected by now!

He clearly wasn't, though, which was highly suspicious.

"Here, drink this. I'll- it'll replenish the blood," Sirius said, thinking fast and giving Remus one of his potions. Though it wouldn't do anything for his wound, it shouldn't harm a human, either.

Remus didn't look quite convinced, but took the potion and drank it.

Immediately, his whole body began to shudder. Revolted, Sirius jumped back, quickly checking whether the dorm was actually empty. Luckily it was.

" _Argentupos_!" he cried, effectively erecting a silver barrier around his bed, which repelled Remus, throwing him against James's.

"Shit!" cursed Sirius. Maybe he should have thought this through, because now he was locked in with- fuck fuck fuck, the door wasn't actually locked!

" _Colloportus_!" Okay, now it was. That still left the fact that he was locked in with an almost-transformed werewolf.

While his parents had taught him how to identify werewolves, he'd never dreamed of having to use it against someone he'd considered a friend. He had, of course, known the potion he gave Remus would force him to transform if he was a werewolf, but had not expected it to have any effect.

Then again, he didn't really know what he had expected. After being bitten, Remus obviously wasn't infected, which meant he was a werewolf, because lycanthropy was the only way for that to happen.

Which meant feeding him the potion had been a really, really stupid idea. Sirius might not be able to get infected, but he could still get torn apart by the beast that was now standing in front of the silver barrier.

He swallowed thickly. When the beast threw itself against the barrier, he screamed. His parents had taught him how to force a werewolf to transform, but not how to undo it, unfortunately.

Defence books...defence books...DEFENCE BOOKS!

"Ouch!" he yelled when the defence books smacked into his head. Recovering from the shock, he began looking for 'werewolf' in the register, frightfully eyeing the creature slamming itself against the barrier all the while.

There it was! The Homorphus charm. Quickly pouring over the page, Sirius winced when he saw that it was extremely painful, potentially damaging to the mind, immensely difficult...and also the only way to reverse the effects of a blood-replacing potion when taken by a werewolf – aside from waiting for the next full moon to wane, which was most definitely not an option.

"Here goes nothing..." he mumbled. " _Homorph_!"

The beast let out an ear-splitting scream as it morphed back into Remus. The sliver of remorse Sirius felt was soon destroyed by the notion that his friend was a werewolf.

Fuck.

-MWPP-

Pain pain pain pain pain.

The first thing Remus felt was the temperature. It was warm, which meant he was not in the Shack.

What happened for him to transform somewhere else, he wondered.

Then the memories came flooding back.

Sirius, biting his hand. Sirius, offering him a potion. Sirius, erecting a barrier with hate shining out of his eyes.

Two weeks, he remembered. He'd been at Hogwarts for two weeks and he'd blown his cover.

"I know you're awake," he heard Sirius say, voice ice-cold. Tears stung the inside of his eyes. It wasn't fair; he wanted to stay.

Reluctantly, he opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. The dorm seemed to be mostly intact, save a few claw marks. Sirius looked intact, too, which, even though he still felt the bitter sting of betrayal, was a huge relief.

"Beast!" snarled Sirius, jumping down from his bed. If Remus thought the vampire was going to help him up, though, he was sorely mistaken. Sirius prodded Remus's arm with the tip of his shoe, looking revolted.

"I-" he tried to say, but the other boy cut him off.

"I don't care, beast."

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out the door.

"I'm sorry," Remus whispered, only to be answered by a resounding silence.

-MWPP-

TUESDAY, 5th OCTOBER 1971

"Ouch!" hissed Remus as the Aconite burned his hand. The teacher, Professor Slughorn, gave him a knowing look but did not interfere. Sighing, he dug up his dragonhide gloves, dumping the offending ingredient into the cauldron with it.

"Is it supposed to hurt you?" Peter, who was his partner, asked.

"No, I'm just allergic to it," Remus said. He was lying through his teeth, of course. Wolfsbane was the botanic equivalent of silver to him.

"Oh, okay," smiled Peter. "Should I cut the rest of it up, then?"

"That'd be great," Remus agreed, switching positions with Peter so that he was now stirring the cauldron. Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw Sirius glaring at him. Very resolutely, he did not make eye contact. Yesterday had been the Full, and the vampire had been staring at him ever since he returned at the beginning of Potions, which was their last lesson.

Remus could not wait until it was over. He felt awful; he hadn't yet fully recovered from his extra transformation and its counterspell – which hurt even more, he doubted even the Cruciatus was that painful – when the Full had been upon him once again.

"Where were you last night?" Peter inquired.

"Oh, I was, uh, visiting my mother! Yes, my mother. She's really very ill, you know." Even in his head, the lie sounded rather pathetic. He noticed Sirius snort and turn away to his cauldron, which, much to Remus's amusement, contained a red potion, while it was supposed to be translucent.

"Okaaay," said Peter warily, clearly thinking his friend had gone mad.

When Remus saw what the next ingredient on the list was, he raised his eyebrows, secretly hoping Sirius would try to drink it and expose himself in front of everyone. He'd have to wait, though, as it wasn't to be added before the potion had turned golden.

"Remus," Peter very, very quietly said, sounding rather scared, "I...I..."

"Are you okay, Pete?" Remus gently asked, turning around to see the small boy crouching on the ground. Pretending to tie his shoelace, Remus crouched down too.

"Hey, what happened?" he tried again, attempting to make eye contact.

"I...I think I w-wet myself." Looking closely, the vague outline of a wet patch, was, indeed, visible on Peter's robes. Finally catching his eye, Remus smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

"Do you want to go to the bathroom to clean up?"

"Y-yes," said Peter, lower lip wobbling.

"Lily?" Remus asked, walking over to her desk, "Could you mind our potion for a while?"

"Sure, why?" the red-haired Gryffindor asked. After talking to her a few times in the library, Remus had found he quite liked her. She was feisty, not afraid to speak her mind, and didn't seem to be intimidated by their status as Heirs like most of the other students.

"I'm taking Pete to the bathroom," he said, giving her a significant look. She nodded, a sympathetic smile gracing her lips.

"No problem. I know a clean-up charm," she added.

"Thanks. I'd do it myself, but I'm still trying to understand that one."

"I'll teach you sometime," said Lily, shaking her head. "It isn't that difficult."

When Peter saw Remus had brought another person along, he seemed to shrink, trembling.

"Pete, this is Lily. She's going to watch our potion while we're gone." With that, he took Peter by the arm, gently tugging him out the door.

-MWPP-

"There, let's go," said Remus, smiling gently at Peter.

"T-thank you," he answered, looking at the floor. "I'm sorry for..."

"It's okay, Pete. Accidents happen." Pushing the door of the bathroom open, Remus was knocked over by a body flinging itself inside. Recognising the black hair, he sighed, guessing what the problem was.

"Go ahead, would you?" he addressed Peter. "I'll be just a minute."

"Okay!" came the answering squeak. Seconds later, Remus heard rather than saw the door slam.

"Sirius," he sighed. "What are you doing on top of me?" His voice was bitter, resigned. Privately, he thought he sounded like an old man.

"I'm sorry," Sirius replied, voice muffled. With the other boy's head buried in his neck, Remus could feel fangs pressing against his throat.

"The dragon blood?" he guessed. A nod.

"I'm so sorry, Remus," whispered Sirius hoarsely. "I'm sorry I thought you were a monster."

"But-"

"You're not a monster, Remus. I can't- I can't believe I ever-"

"Shh. It's all right, Sirius," Remus softly said, rubbing circles up and down the vampire's back.

"It isn't. I called you a beast."

Flinching, he softly agreed:

"You did. You're...you're not the first, though."

"Who else?" asked Sirius, sounding like he very much wanted to tear them all from limb to limb. He'd be at that for a while, Remus mused; the list was rather long.

"Lots of people. My aunt and cousins. The healers at St Mungo's. The employees at the Ministry. Anyone who finds out, really." He wondered if it was weird to be able to rattle off the list like that.

"I'm sorry," Sirius choked. "Merlin, I'm so sorry."

"Why?" asked Remus softly.

"Huh?"

"Why are you sorry? What- no, listen to me," he added when Sirius tried to open his mouth. "What made you change your mind?"

"I almost attacked Frank, that Gryffindor guy," Sirius softly confessed. "He came too close when he was holding the dragon blood."

"Yes, and?" prompted Remus.

"I realised I'm the monster. You're only dangerous once a month-"

"And when I ingest a certain potion," Remus growled, a steel glint in his eyes. "Do you know how many people could have been hurt, had I gotten loose? How many lives could have been destroyed?"

"That's what you're angry about?" Sirius asked in surprise. "But didn't it hurt?"

"Of course it hurt, you git! I'm pretty sure not even the Cruciatus hurts as much as that spell you used. But", he went on, easily dismissing the matter, "the important thing is, people could have gotten hurt, and it would have been my fault."

Throughout Remus's explanation, Sirius had paled drastically.

"I never realised... I'm a monster. Each time I smell humans, the only thing I can think about is their blood. Not who they are, or even the colour of their hair. Their blood."

"That doesn't make you a monster," Remus softly said. "It makes you forgetful, since apparently you forgot to take your potion."

"I didn't forget," muttered Sirius. "I just didn't have the chance."

"I'm sorry," whispered Remus as realisation hit him. "I should have distracted the others."

"What- we were fighting! It wasn't your responsibility!"

"Still-"

"No, it wasn't."

"Okay," Remus sighed, trying to sit up. However, as soon as he moved Sirius pinned his two wrists to the ground, snarling as his vampire side tried to prevent his prey from escaping.

Sirius just looked green.

"I- it's taking over!" he said, horrified.

"I'm not going anywhere," Remus said in low tones, "I'm staying, I'm not going to escape." While he spoke, he tilted his head so his throat was exposed.

"What?" said Sirius in confusion. "What are you- hey! I can let go! How did you do that?" he excitedly asked, jumping back.

"Don't go too far," Remus cautioned. "Your vampire side has me marked as prey. You were trying to prevent me escaping."

"Why are you still lying there?" Indeed, he had not moved a muscle.

"Because as soon as I move, you'll jump on top of me again."

"No," whispered Sirius. "How do I stop it?"

"You can't. I read up on vampirism, and as soon as someone's marked, the vampire won't stop until he or she has been claimed."

"No!" Sirius clamped his hands in front of his mouth.

"I'm sorry it's me," Remus quietly offered.

"What? I'm glad it's you. It's just...I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't," he softly reassured his friend. "C'mere."

Hesitantly, Sirius walked forward, kneeling beside Remus, who gently reached out and pulled the other boy back on top of him, wrapping his arms around the trembling vampire.

"I'll hurt you," he whispered.

"Shh. I'm strong enough to throw you off if you're hurting me," murmured Remus. "Come on, before the other students get out of class." At the thought of having to share his prey, Sirius snarled before puncturing Remus's neck with his fangs, looking rather green all the while.

"That's right. It's okay, you aren't hurting me," he reassured the vampire, who had started to pull away. Sirius sucked at his neck while Remus rubbed circles up and down his back.

They stayed like that until Remus began to feel a bit queasy.

"Stop, Sirius. You've had enough." Immediately, his friend lifted his head, blood colouring his lips.

"Merlin, I didn't take too much, did I? Please tell me you're okay," Sirius frantically said.

"'M fine," mumbled Remus.

"No you're not. Come on, let's get you to the dorm."

-MWPP-

As soon as they arrived at their dorm, Sirius laid Remus, who he'd carried the last few corridors, down on his bed. Running to the bathroom, he returned with a washcloth, which was used to wipe the blood off his friend's neck. His kind, gentle friend, whom he'd shunned without a second though.

"I'm sorry," he whispered again. It was all he'd been able to get past his lips ever since the incident in the bathroom. The worst thing was that, even now, he could feel the vampire urging him to claim his prey again. The thing was unhappy Remus hadn't been turned. Sirius vowed to look up more information on how to stop this as soon as he could, because he knew an incident like the one today would occur again.

"Stop fretting, Sirius," said Remus, looking at him in amusement. "I'll be fine."

"You've lost too much blood," Sirius argued. "I'd give you one of my potions, but..."

"I'd rather you didn't," croaked Remus, looking rather pale. "There's some blood replenishing potion in my trunk, though."

Jumping up, Sirius hastened to get to the trunk, but found he couldn't open it, as it was quite locked.

"Was your trunk always locked?" he asked in confusion.

"Uh, no," mumbled Remus, grabbing his wand and pointing it at the offending item. "There, it should open now."

"Ah. Thanks." Sirius cleared his throat, wondering how things had become so awkward.

"Can I have the potion?" Remus asked, sounding amused.

"Ah- yes, of course. Here," said Sirius, handing over the potion. As soon as Remus drank it, some of the paleness seemed to drain from his face, leaving behind a slightly feverish flush.

The door burst open. Reflexively, Sirius turned his head, only to see a red-faced James enter the dorm.

"Oh, it's you, Black. And Lupin," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"You don't have to be such a bully, you know!" Sirius snarled, balling his fists. "You could just be nice!"

"You're overreacting," Remus managed from where he was lying on the bed.

"Oh, am I? What about Prince Prat from Gitsburg, then?"

"Prince Prat from- Merlin, Sirius! He hasn't even done anything this time!"

"Fine! You know what? I'll just- I'll just go!" With that, Sirius stormed out the door. Just before it closed, he heard Remus firmly say:

"We need to talk, Potter."


	4. Y1 - Chapter Four

**Story Title:** These Four Heirs

 **Summary:** There are not one, but two Dark creatures among the Marauders. Oh, and all four of them are descended from the Founders. This can only spell trouble... Features non-evil!Wormtail, vampire!Sirius, Wolfstar and Jily

 **Warnings:** blood, vampire-related stuff, mentions of an abusive household, bullying by eleven-year olds

 **Rating:** T

 **Disclaimer:** I am not JK Rowling. No profit is being made from this, and no infringement of copyright is intended. I am in no way affiliated with the author of Harry Potter. The Potterverse does not belong to me.

 **A/N:** The Marauders form! Whoohoo!

-MWPP-

TUESDAY, 5th OCTOBER 1971

"Do we, now?" James Potter asked the boy in front of him, who, in his opinion, was speaking out of place. He and his arrogant Pureblooded friend could just sod off!

Deep down, he knew very well this was a bit pointless; he was a pureblood, himself, after all.

However, James was eleven and really quite childish, which meant he didn't think this notion one worth of entertaining for very long.

"Yes. We do. I've had it up to here with your picking on my friends!" Lupin said, cool and collected. Frantically, James's gaze darted around the room, looking for an escape route.

"I do not pick on them!" he declared, not-so-rightful indignation in his tone. "I just..."

"You just what, exactly?" Lupin was now slowly advancing on him.

"Nothing!" One glance from the boy in front of him made James reconsider his answer, though. "I...you and Sirius became friends so quickly, like a shared secret, and then you took Peter away..."

Lupin's gaze softened.

"Peter isn't an object. He's allowed to decide for himself. But... if you weren't so awful to us, you could join, too!"

A smile threatened to break out on James's face.

"What am I joining?"

"Well, there'd be four of us...we could be the Marauders, like the four Musketeers!" He had to grin at the enthusiasm on Lupin's- no, Remus's face.

"Cool. Okay, I'm in."

"Now we need to tell the others. Oh, and James?"

When had Remus started calling him by his given name? Whatever.

"Yeah?"

"Never, ever trust Sirius with a potion. I mean it, it'll probably be the last thing you do!"

"He's really that bad?" James asked through his sniggers.

"He's already managed to make water burn three times. Seriously, how do you make water burn?!"

"You have to be very...Sirius," James snorted. Remus looked like he was severely regretting giving him the opportunity to make a pun, and James had a feeling they were going to become banned at the risk of Remus-ing very, very soon.

WEDNESDAY, 20th OCTOBER 1971

"Sirius, what's that ball of wool for?" Remus warily asked. The four were sitting on his bed, since Peter's was full of crumbs, James outright refused to sit on Sirius's, and, in retaliation, Sirius refused to sit on James's. Right now, Sirius was playing with a ball of very pink wool.

Their next lesson was Transfiguration, and Peter knew this didn't bode well. Yesterday, McGonagall had shown them her Animagus form, and Sirius's eyes had started shining. He was up to something.

Unfortunately, the last time Sirius had been up to something he'd managed to land both himself and James in detention for a week. Suffice to say, James had refused to speak to Sirius for days.

Not that he was innocent, of course. James Potter, innocent? Both Remus and Peter had learned very quickly not to leave their dark-haired friends alone for any number of time, since every time they were forced to, something exploded. Or flooded. Or turned pink. Or was hung from the ceiling.

Peter had the feeling Remus was seriously regretting ever uniting the Marauders.

The upside was, Remus was much more relaxed. James had turned out to be a born leader, mothering every one of them. This meant Remus was relieved of that task, which hadn't really suited him, anyway.

"Kitties like to play with wool, don't they?" Sirius said, startling Peter out of his reverie.

"McGonagall is NOT a cat, Sirius! Don't you remember the detention?"

"I had no part in that!" James protested.

"Liar!" yelled Sirius. Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. Peter observed it all.

"Die!" James shouted, attacking Sirius with a pillow.

"That's MY pillow!" thundered Remus. Both boys immediately stilled, warily looking at their friend. Peter thought that was a very wise thing to do; Remus was right scary sometimes.

The pillow fell out of Sirius's hands as Remus advanced.

"'M sorry, Rem! I won't do it again!" he squeaked.

"You better not," growled Remus. "Oh, and if you call me that one more time..."

"Eep!" Sirius scooted backwards, knocking James off the bed in the process.

"Ouch!" he complained.

"Sorry," said Sirius distractedly. "Aah, Remus! Stop it!"

As Remus tickled Sirius mercilessly, the other boy appeared to be struggling with something.

"Enough!" he gasped out. To everyone's surprise, Remus immediately halted his actions.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"No harm done," wheezed Sirius.

"Guys, we're gonna be late for Transfiguration!" Peter said in alarm. He didn't quite understand what had just passed between the boys, but he really, really didn't want to be late for Transfiguration. McGonagall had already threatened to turn them into a pocketwatch multiple times, and they fully believed her to be capable of following through on that threat.

"Excellent," smirked Sirius. Peter and Remus shared a Look, the kind that said 'do we need to put him in a full body-bind or just let him get the detention?'.

-MWPP-

"Take a seat, everyone. Today's lesson will be on Switching Spells. You will all get- yes, Mister Black?" Minerva McGonagall sighed, annoyed that her lecture was being disrupted. Behind Black, she could see Lupin and Pettigrew shaking their heads and pretending they didn't know what was going on. Potter, of course, was shaking with barely supressed laughter.

"Does becoming an Animagus make you more like the animal you turn into?"

"Firstly, Mister Black, the 'animal you turn into' is called your Animagus form. Secondly, you'll all be studying Animagi in detail during your third year. Last lesson was merely- WHAT IS THAT?" She had just spotted something pink under Black's desk.

Even though he'd been caught, Black didn't give up. Instead, he threw the – was that a ball of wool?! – at her. Deftly catching it in her left hand, Minerva ignored the part of her that wanted to unravel it, chase it all around the- focus, Minerva.

"MISTER BLACK! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" The other first-years shrank back in their seats, but Black merely raised an eyebrow.

"Don't kitties like wool?" he asked, as if throwing balls of it at your teacher was perfectly acceptable.

"I wouldn't know, Mister Black. I am an Animagus, not a cat. Meet me in detention this evening."

Black sulked, while Lupin looked rather smug.

-MWPP-

FRIDAY, 22nd OCTOBER 1971

"I can't believe this!" Sirius complained.

"Well, what did you expect?" Remus sighed. "You've been playing pranks in pretty much every class!"

"It's fun, you should try it!"

Remus rolled his eyes and focused on what Professor Flitwick was saying about Levitation Charms. Sirius had gotten a rather cold letter from home that morning. Apparently, his parents weren't too pleased about the pranks their son had been pulling, and now he was sulking.

Spotting the stack of books on which Professor Flitwick stood, Remus got an idea. He waited until Sirius was waving his wand around – like always, the vampire wasn't even trying to follow instructions, instead waving his wand around randomly – and pointed his own at the stack of books.

" _Wingardium Leviosa_ ," he whispered, making sure to put the emphasis on the 'o' and not the 'a'.

"Mister Black, put me down this instant!" Professor Flitwick shrieked. Like a deer caught in headlights, Sirius froze and stopped moving. Remus 'accidentally' bumped into him, making sure to release the spell right when Sirius fell aside.

"Detention, Mister Black!" Flitwick yelled once he was back on the ground. "This evening!"

Since Sirius was still too startled to respond, Remus took the duty upon him.

"I'm afraid he already has detention with Professor McGonagall tonight, Sir," he apologetically said. One row behind them, James was having hysterics, shooting Remus a discreet thumbs-up.

-MWPP-

"I can't believe you, Remus!" Sirius whined. "Landing me in detention!" At the reminder of the prank during Charms, James started laughing again. This made him fall off Remus's bed, which they were all sitting on.

"Well, you did say I 'should try it!', you know," Remus sniggered.

"Evil, evil Marauder," Sirius pouted.

"Isn't being evil in the job description?" Peter piped up. The small boy was slowly coming out of his shell, and turning out to be rather witty.

"It is," smirked James. Sirius looked at Remus, certain his partner in crime was turning against him, who just shrugged, as if to say he should just wait and see.

"What're we going as for Halloween, actually?" Peter asked.

"I wasn't aware we had to dress up," said Remus, frowning.

"We're not going to dress up?!" Sirius exclaimed, conspiratorially leaning forward. "I suggest we make it a dress-up feast."

"And how are we going to do that?" James demanded. "Just say 'hey everyone, you've got to dress up'?"

"They're not going to listen to a couple of first-years," Remus pointed out.

"Ah, but we're not just any first-years. We are the Heirs!"

-MWPP-

"So, costumes!" Sirius excitedly said, bouncing up and down. He'd just returned from detention. McGonagall had been surprisingly amicable to his idea of turning the Halloween feast into a costume party.

"Do we have to?" Remus whined, reluctantly looking up from his Astronomy essay.

"Of course we do!" James said, jumping up from where he'd been lying on his bed.

"Ooh, I'll be a pumpkin!" Peter said. Everyone looked at him.

"A...pumpkin?" Remus hesitantly asked.

"I think I've seen instructions on how to make a pumpkin costume somewhere," James mused. "Anyway, what'll you be, Remus?"

"A mummy, I think. Sirius?"

"I'll be a vampire!" he said. "That'd look really cool!" Out of the corner of his eye Sirius noticed Remus shooting him a look. In hindsight, dressing up as a vampire might not be the best idea, but he could hardly back out now.

"And you, James?" Sirius innocently asked. "What about a banshee?"

"Prat!" James laughed. "I'm not a girl. No, I think I'll be a werewolf. They're certainly scary enough!"

Sirius shot a worried look at Remus, who sighed.

"That they are. I'm going to bed, guys. See you tomorrow." Moments later, he'd drawn his curtains.

Sirius glared at James.

"What have I said?" the messy-haired boy asked in confusion.

"Nothing, James, nothing."

-MWPP-

Remus lay awake, staring at the canopy of his bed. How could he have forgotten? He was a Dark creature. How could he have thought that maybe, the others would accept him too?

Why had he been so stupid? He'd almost let something slip when James said that. They're certainly scary enough...Remus didn't think he was scary. He folded his socks. His mum had told him that, before, he used to be somewhat of a hurricane; always messing up the things he passed. His father said that before, he used to spin around with his arms wide, a real tornado.

Remus thought he knew why he'd stopped doing that. His transformations were dizzy and confusing. When he woke up, he was scared he'd still be the wolf, still have to watch powerlessly as the creature tore at its skin.

He wanted to be in control. By organising everything, he was in control. He was in control by moving very carefully. He was in control by thinking before he spoke.

But the Marauders pulled that long-buried hurricane back. They made him want to spin around, eyes closed, until he fell to the ground, trusting that everything would be alright.

"Remus?" a soft voice called.

"No!" he yelped. He wasn't wearing a shirt, they'd see his scars! Before he could say anything, though, the curtains were pulled open.

"It's me," Sirius whispered, dried tears on his face. Knowing this was about the letter, and temporarily forgetting he wasn't wearing a shirt, Remus enveloped his friend in a hug, pulling the vampire down next to him. To his surprise, Sirius didn't comment on the large web of scars, nor the great, twisted bite on his left shoulder. He just snuggled up against Remus, exhaling softly.

"Thanks."

-MWPP-

SUNDAY, 31st OCTOBER 1971

Remus ducked his head, trying to avoid the staring no one seemed to realise was rude.

Sirius and James were enjoying the attention, strutting and pulling ridiculous poses, while Peter tried to disappear into his pumpkin costume.

It was Halloween, and they were standing next to the punch bowl. On the dance floor, enthusiastic couples were- was that supposed to be dancing?

"No, James!" he hissed when the bespectacled boy reached for a glass of punch. "It's spiked!" Alarmed at the unholy glint that appeared in his friend's eyes, Remus grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the punch.

"Merlin, I hate parties," he muttered. "You can't drink alcohol, James! You're- where is Sirius?!"

"Over there," Peter said. "He's...kissing someone?"

"Shit!" Remus exclaimed, pushing James aside and running over to Sirius, who was holding a pretty second-year Hufflepuff girl. Behind his back, James slinked away in the direction of the punch.

"Stop it!" snapped Remus, grabbing a disgruntled Sirius by the collar of his robe and dragging him to the exit, ignoring the angry second-year.

As soon as they were out of the Great Hall, he removed his hand from Sirius's collar, grabbed his wrist, and began running. The vampire gave an angry snarl, but followed.

"What were you thinking?!" Remus yelled once they'd reached the safety of their dorm. "You can't just- did you even take your potion?"

"Of course I did," Sirius, whose eyes were beginning to return to their normal colour, mumbled. "But she had dragon blood smeared all over her!"

"Why in the world...right. Halloween. Anyway, you can't just go attacking random students!"

"I didn't do it on purpose! What's up with you?!"

"Nothing!" shouted Remus, pulling at the toilet paper he'd used to dress up in frustration. "Absolutely nothing!"

"Nothing my arse. I'm not stupid," Sirius scoffed. "It's the moon, isn't it?"

Just as Remus was about to answer, the door burst open.

"Hold ye merry Hipogriffs, Hippogriffs!" James sang. "Winter is coming, coming, ooooh!"

"Sorry," mumbled Peter. "He's had a bit too much punch."

"Clearly," Sirius snorted. "It's Halloween, James, not Christmas."

"HOLD YE MERRY HIPPOGRIFFS, HIPPO-"

"SHUT UP, JAMES!" Remus yelled, attempting to get the drunken boy into bed. "Merlin! Pete, please say you haven't had any punch."

"Uh...a bit? Not as much as James!" Peter protested while helping the other two push James toward his bed.

"James," announced Remus dryly, "is pissed out of his mind."

While aiming lazy kicks at the curtains of his bed, James accidentally kicked Peter, who was standing a bit close, in the stomach.

"And Pete just pissed himself," snorted Sirius. Peter flushed, looking at his feet.

"We really ought to have you looked at," frowned Remus. "This isn't normal. _Scourgify_." Since Peter wet himself pretty much every day, all of them knew the spell by now.

"I know it isn't normal!" Peter snapped.

"I meant Madam Pomfrey may be able to do something about it, Pete," Remus sighed, flopping down onto a blissfully soft mattress.

"That's my bed," Sirius grumbled. When it became clear his friend wasn't going to move, he petulantly claimed Remus's bed.

-MWPP-

MONDAY, 1st NOVEMBER 1971

"Ugh..." groaned James. "What in the name of Merlin's pink frilly knickers happened yesterday?"

"Merlin's pink WHAT?" snorted Sirius, spitting toothpaste at the mirror. A pathetic-looking James had just dragged himself over to the bathroom.

"You have a hangover," Remus commented, emerging from the shower fully dressed. Sirius wondered how he could take his clothes with him without getting them wet. And where had his towel gone?

"'Scuse me!" squeaked Peter, sprinting to the toilet. Sirius rolled his eyes, rinsing his mouth before walking out of the bathroom to get dressed.

"I'm going to breakfast," he announced a few moments later.

"You've got your shirt on inside-out," an amused-looking Remus said.

"And yours isn't tucked in properly," Sirius retorted while sorting his errant shirt out. To his surprise, Remus's eyes went wide, and he hastened to tuck his shirt in.

"Merlin, it's not that big of a deal," Sirius said. "Now come on, or we'll be late to class!"

"Nooo, we have potions!" Remus whined.

"You do fine in potions," Sirius frowned. "Astronomy, now that's a different story..."

"Not on the day before the full," muttered Remus. "The fumes give me headaches."

"Oh." Sirius couldn't think of a better response. He should have known, tomorrow was the full moon. Vowing to get his hands on a lunar calendar, Sirius wondered where Remus transformed.

"You're still...okay with it?" his friend asked in a small voice.

"Of course I am," whispered Sirius, squeezing Remus's arm. "I'm just...you won't be in the castle, right?"

"Normally not, no. That'd be much too dangerous," Remus said with a small smile. "I'm scared, too, you know."

"I never-"

"It's okay to be scared. Fear will keep you safe. I want you to promise me something, Sirius." The tone of Remus's voice left no room for argument. Sirius swallowed.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Never, ever go looking for me."

"What if I get in by accident?" Sirius asked, feeling brave.

"You won't. Swear it, Sirius!" Remus demanded, voice rough. "I wouldn't be able to stand to seeing you ripped to shreds."

"You can... you know what you're doing?"

"I can see what's happening, but I can't...I'm completely helpless. I can only watch as the wolf takes over my body."

"That's awful," Sirius whispered.

Remus just shrugged.

"Oh, and I swear I won't come looking for you," Sirius added as an afterthought.

A smile graced Remus's face.

"Good."


	5. Y1 - Chapter Five

**Story Title:** These Four Heirs

 **Summary:** There are not one, but two Dark creatures among the Marauders. Oh, and all four of them are descended from the Founders. This can only spell trouble... Features non-evil!Wormtail, vampire!Sirius, Wolfstar and Jily

 **Warnings:** Peter gets pranked, some Amortentia-related stuff, some werewolf-related stuff, and mentions of an abusive household

 **Rating:** T

 **Disclaimer:** I am not JK Rowling. No profit is being made from this, and no infringement of copyright is intended. I am in no way affiliated with the author of Harry Potter. The Potterverse does not belong to me.

 **A/N:** The last chapter in year one! This chapter is a series of short vignettes depicting the rest of their year at Hogwarts.

-MWPP-

THURSDAY, 25th NOVEMBER 1971

"James what's-your-middle-name Potter!" yelled Remus. He was standing in what used to be their dorm. "What in Merlin's name happened here?!"

To his left, Peter drew the curtains of his bed shut.

"Well," began James, puffing up his chest, "I was testing spells out for Extremely Important Prank Number nine, and as it so happens, I confused the incantation for Destructive But Harmless Spell two with that for Very Dangerous Destructive Spell four, and-"

"Get on with it, mate. Rem looks like he's about to explode," Sirius stage-whispered into James's ear.

"-and my wand happened to be aimed at your candy stash."

Letting out a wail of anguish, Remus leapt forward and was only stopped just in time by a hassled-looking Sirius.

"We'll get him back, Remus."

-MWPP-

SUNDAY, 28th NOVEMBER 1971

"Mint, I think," Sirius said. He and Remus had locked themselves in the bathroom with two boxes of Bertie Botts Evert Flavour Beans. Both of them had been emptied in a big bowl, and now they were sorting them.

"That's the bad box!" Remus exclaimed, grabbing Sirius's wrist.

"Whoops, sorry," he said, putting the bean into the correct box.

"I'm not really sure what this is. Could be toothpaste, or some sort of candy? Here," said Remus, handing the offending bean over.

"That's dessert spices, Rem," Sirius said after a quick sniff. "Haven't you ever tasted them?"

"No," muttered Remus, flushing and looking down. Sirius shrugged and went back to sorting the beans.

-MWPP-

FRIDAY, 10th DECEMBER 1971

There was a Christmas tree in their dorm. The door had just swung open, and a Christmas tree had entered.

"Look what I have!" James announced from somewhere behind the mass of green.

"Ooh, it's a Christmas tree!" Peter excitedly said, bouncing up and down.

"Eek!" yelped Sirius, scrambling to get under Remus's bed. "What is that thing doing here?!"

"Uh...it's a Christmas tree?" James unhelpfully supplied.

"I know it's a Christmas tree! Why is it in our dorm?!" Sirius demanded, hiding just a little further under the bed.

"It won't bite, you know," Remus frowned, looking up from his essay. "It's just for decoration."

"What do you mean it won't bite?! Those things are EVIL!"

All three made various noises of concern.

"Are you okay, Sirius? Why in the world would a Christmas tree bite you?" Remus asked, baffled.

"Mate, I don't know where you got that idea, but biting Christmas trees? That's just fucked up."

"Uh...the ones at home all bite. Well, me at least. They leave the others alone," Sirius added in an undertone.

"I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure your family's just fucked up, Sirius. No one else has biting Christmas trees."

"Goddamnit."

-MWPP-

SATURDAY, 25th DECEMBER 1971

"PRESENTS!" Peter yelled, jumping up and down on his bed.

"Merlin, who gave him sugar?" James groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Merry Christmas, James," Remus wryly said. James looked around, but couldn't find where his voice was coming from.

"We're behind your pile of presents," Sirius informed him. "Ooh, what would that one be?"

"Hands off, Sirius!" Remus chastised. "Those aren't yours."

"Oi! What are you two gits doing with my presents?!" demanded James, who was sitting up, fully awake now that his presents were in danger.

"Looking at them," Remus answered, at the same time as Sirius said:

"Psychoanalysing them."

"Well done," Remus praised. "Such a big word!"

"Oh, shut up."

"Open them, open them!" sang Peter.

"On it!" James promised, right before taking a nosedive into the pile.

"AAH!" yelled Sirius.

"Get off me, you prat!" grumbled Remus, who James had landed on.

After James had gotten off Remus, the four each grabbed a present. James efficiently tore his open right at the seam, while Sirius just ripped anything he found to pieces and Peter somehow got stuck in the wrapping paper.

"Merlin, Remus! You're not going to hurt the paper!" Sirius exclaimed. Peter had long since been untangled from the wrapping paper, he'd opened all of his, and James was starting on his fifth present.

Meanwhile, Remus was still at his first present, carefully unpacking it the same way one might a particularly delicate ornament.

"I just...I just don't like being so rough with it," he hesitantly said.

"You're taking ages!" Peter complained.

"Here, let me," Sirius softly said, meeting Remus's eyes.

"Thanks," the other boy said, gratefully handing his present over.

"So, what's everyone got?" Peter asked.

"I've gotten books and some medicinal potions," Sirius said, pulling a face. "I always get books. Ooh, this is nice, Remus, your parents gave you a Moleskin-bound notebook! Those can only be opened by the owner."

"Handy," Remus said with a secretive little smile. "Oi, Peter! No candy before breakfast. What've you gotten, James?"

Peter guiltily hid his newly-received stash away.

"A tin of biscuits, a wizard chess set, extra Potions supplies, some Transfiguration books, a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, a blanket, pillows, extra quills, a table and four chairs," James rattled off.

"Wow," Remus managed to get out past his jaw, which was practically on the floor. "What are the table and chairs for?"

"Decorating our dorm," smiled James. "I thought we could make this our place, since we're the legendary Heirs and all."

Sirius was the first to tackle him into a hug, with Remus and Peter joining seconds later.

-MWPP-

FRIDAY, 31st DECEMBER 1971

"C'mon, do you really have to go home? It's New Year's Eve!" James whined. Remus had just fed him and Peter the some-family-member-is-ill excuse, and they were not buying it.

"That's the second time this month," Peter remarked. Remus gnashed his teeth but remained silent. He wasn't happy about having to go through two Fulls in one month, either!

"It's not as if I enjoy it!" he spat. "I'd much rather be here, with you, instead of..." Instead of being hurt and alone in a cold, dreary shack.

"I know," Sirius whispered, embracing him. "I know."

"I have to go," Remus brokenly told the rest of his friends. "I'm sorry." James angrily turned his back on him. Peter gave him a betrayed look before following James.

As soon as they were out of sight, Remus collapsed onto the soft grass, tears trickling down his face.

"It's not fair," he whispered. "This isn't my fault!"

Sirius stood next to him, glaring fearfully at the dark.

"Remus," he quietly said, "moonrise isn't far away."

Cheeks wet and eyes bloodshot, Remus got up and walked away.

-MWPP-

SATURDAY, 1st JANUARY 1972

"Happy New Year," James whispered to an unconsious Remus lying in the Hospital Wing.

"Happy New Year," Sirius and Peter echoed.

James stayed by Remus's bedside long after the two others had left. When his friend woke, it was past dinner.

"I'm sorry," said James.

"Happy New Year to you too," grinned Remus. Despite being pale and sickly, he still managed to look happy.

-MWPP-

MONDAY, 21st JANUARY 1972

"Oh, I absolutely adore him!" James heard a second-year Slytherin gush to her friends. Curious, he hid behind a statue to hear what they were talking about. For once, the four weren't together, but seeing as James was supposed to be in detention along with Sirius, it couldn't really be helped.

"You're right, Elisa, he's absolutely stunning! Have you seen his hair?" one of the girls agreed.

"Or his smile! I swear, he looks at you all the time. He's so in love with you!" a third reassured the first, who was apparently called Elisa. A snotty name for a snotty house, James thought. His curiosity was piqued, though. He wondered who they were talking about.

"Absolutely not!" Elisa cried. "I'm but a second-year, he can have anyone he wants!"

"You're older than he is, you know. They're only first-years, the lot of them," a fourth and rather surly-looking girl pointed out.

"But they must really be something special, to be chosen as Heirs!" the second girl indignantly said. James quietly gasped. He couldn't wait to report back to the others. Remus would have a field day with this!

"Are you sure?" one of the girls asked. Huh. What had he missed?

"Soraya! It's the only way! Besides, I've already bribed that third-year boy," Elisa announced, leaning toward the girl named Soraya as if sharing a secret.

"Ooh! What did you promise him?" Soraya giggled.

"A kiss, of course! And maybe something more 'if he does a really good job'."

Various gasps could be heard. James felt sick. What was going on?

-MWPP-

MONDAY, 14th FEBRUARY 1972

"Bloody- what the hell is this?!" James exclaimed. He was currently being attacked by owls.

"Valentine's notes, I think," snorted Remus into his milk. "You seem to be quite- aah!"

"Who sent us these?!" Peter squeaked. "Help!"

"Just take them, Pete. Those owls will keep bugging you if you don't," Sirius, who didn't seem to have any trouble managing his own flock of owls, advised.

"Shoo, I've already taken your letter," Remus muttered, chasing the last owl away.

"Cool!" exclaimed Sirius, holding up a parcel. "I've gotten chocolates."

"Let's open these later," James suggested, shaking his head.

"How are we supposed to get them to the dorm?" Remus dryly asked. "Look at these piles!"

"Uh, well..." mumbled James, running a hand through his hair.

"Honestly, we're wizards," Sirius huffed, ignoring Remus's panicked looks. " _Wingardium_ -"

"MISTER BLACK!" bellowed McGonagall. "Students are not allowed to use magic outside of class!"

"Sorry, Professor," Sirius said with his most charming smile, "but how else are we going to get these to our dorm?"

"By asking your house-elf, of course!" McGonagall crisply said. Seeing the confused looks she was getting, she elaborated:

"Dumbledore apparently forgot to mention this, but the four of you have your own house-elf. Milly!"

At the snap of fingers, Milly the house-elf appeared.

"Take this to the Heirs's dorm, please."

-MWPP-

"Why in the world did we get so many gifts?" Remus asked in astonishment. As soon as their classes were over for the day, the four had rushed to their dorm, wanting to open their letters and gifts.

"We're the Heirs, mate," James said.

"Candy!" Peter exclaimed, popping a chocolate into his mouth. He immediately got a dazed look in his eyes.

"That was mine!" complained Sirius.

"Shut up, Sirius. Pete, are you okay?" James inquired while prying the box of chocolates from his friend's fingers.

"No!" wailed Peter. "I'll never be okay again, not while she...she doesn't even know I exist!"

"Uh...what exactly was in those chocolates?" Remus gently asked James, who had turned a rather alarming shade of green.

"I forgot to mention...I overheard some girls a while back. They were talking about Sirius, saying how nice his hair was-" Sirius started to puff up "-and how he was in love with one of them, Elisa she was called."

"Elisa?" Peter eagerly said. "You know her?"

"Well, that answers the question of what was in those chocolates," sighed Remus.

"To Madam Miracle we go!" Sirius announced, strutting toward the door.

"Madam Pomfrey, Sirius, Madam Pomfrey."

-MWPP-

SUNDAY, 20th FEBRUARY 1972

"Morning Peter!" A bright face appeared above Peter's head. The boy burrowed a little deeper under his covers, thinking Sirius should be given a sedative until noon.

"'S too early!" he grumbled.

"Ooh, he's forgotten, has he?" James could be heard saying. Peter paled. Those two were obviously up to no good.

"C'mon, you're scaring him," chuckled Remus. "Don't worry, Pete, you'll get out of this alive."

Peter wondered if that also meant he'd still have all his limbs. Then everything went black.

-MWPP-

"Whatever is going on at the Hufflepuff table?" Elly asked her friend.

"The Heirs. Again," Lianne answered her, huffing.

"Do we even want to know what it is this time?" Liam, Lianne's twin brother, pitched in.

"Probably not," said Elly, shaking her head.

-MWPP-

"Come on guys, we'll be late to class otherwise," Remus snickered.

"Being late to class isn't the end of the world, Rem," Sirius sighed, shoving at Remus's shoulder and raising his eyebrows when this caused his friend to flinch.

"That hurts!" hissed Remus, taking a step back.

James, who had been watching the exchange, coughed.

"I hate to interrupt, but we really do need to get to class." He mock-shivered. "McGonagall's scary."

"Um, what about Peter?" Remus questioned.

"What about Peter?" Sirius cheerfully asked.

"He's hung from the ceiling!" exclaimed Remus.

A dull thud sounded behind them.

"Correction: he _was_ hung from the ceiling."

"Are you alright?" they heard James ask in the background.

-MWPP-

FRIDAY, 3rd MARCH 1972

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am!"

"NO YOU'RE NOT! Goddamnit, Remus, do I have to tie you to that bed?!" Sirius shouted in frustration. Damn stubborn werewolf.

Absently, he wondered when he'd stopped being revolted by the word.

A long time ago, he realised as he heard his friend groan in pain.

"Mr Black! No shouting in the infirmary, please!" Madam Pomfrey admonished as she came bustling over.

"Sorry, Ma'am," muttered Sirius, staring determinedly at his feet as the matron walked away.

A rustle to his left made him look up.

"Remus, you idiot!" he snapped, rushing forward to steady his friend.

"I can't miss another Defense lesson!" Remus protested.

"Yes you damn well can!"

"Madam Pomfrey said I could go!"

"To our dorm, not class."

"Yes, but-"

Having had quite enough of this nonsense, Sirius scooped Remus up in his arms, carrying the other boy with ease. Remus really needed to eat more, Sirius mused. He was scrawny as hell.

"Put me down!" protested Remus.

"Nope," Sirius replied, popping the p.

Remus growled the rest of the way to their dorm.


	6. Y2 - Chapter Six

**Story Title:** These Four Heirs

 **Summary:** There are not one, but two Dark creatures among the Marauders. Oh, and all four of them are descended from the Founders. This can only spell trouble... Features non-evil!Wormtail, vampire!Sirius, Wolfstar and Jily

 **Warnings:** Prejudiced teacher, lots and lots of people wetting/pooping themselves, a mildly sexual reference, a bit of violence between 12-year olds

 **Rating:** T

 **Disclaimer:** I am not JK Rowling. No profit is being made from this, and no infringement of copyright is intended. I am in no way affiliated with the author of Harry Potter. The Potterverse does not belong to me.

 **A/N:** The first chapter of year two, in which Peter really doesn't want to go to Madam Pomfrey

-MWPP-

MONDAY, 22nd JANUARY 1973

"For today's class, we will be covering werewolves," Professor Stulta announced. This year's DADA Professor was a tall, handsome man.

If only his beliefs were just as nice, thought Sirius morosely. Last lesson had been on Veela. Somehow, the Professor had managed to make those look like big bad monsters.

He really didn't want to find out how Stulta would portray werewolves, though he could hazard a pretty good guess.

"Please open your textbook to page three hundred seventy-two."

The mild chatter that'd arisen after the Professor's first announcement instantly died down. Most students had figured out the hard way that opposing Stulta wasn't a wise thing to do after some second-years were sent to the Hospital Wing with chalk in their ears.

"I've written six statements on the board. I want you to write down whether you think they are true, and why."

 _ **Werewolves are only dangerous during the full moon**_

 _ **Silver will burn a werewolf when touched, and poison them when ingested**_

 _ **A spell exists to turn a werewolf back to their human-like form**_

 _ **A wizard's magic disappears upon being turned into a werewolf**_

 _ **The same legal rights are extended to wizards and werewolves**_

 _ **Identifying a werewolf is easily possible in both forms; if true, please include the signs**_

Sirius had learned quite a bit during his time with Remus, and thus spotted two false statements right away.

To his left, Remus was already scribbling furiously on his parchment. Not wanting to be outdone, Sirius started writing.

 _True. Only feral werewolves can infect humans without a full moon being present._

 _True. In addition, the same effect is caused by Wolfsbane or Aconite. Therefore, one must be extremely careful when using potions on a person with lycanthropy._

 _True. This is the Homorphus charm (incantation_ Homorph _)._

 _False. Whether or not a human has magic isn't changed by contracting lycanthropy._

 _False. Wizards with lycanthropy have much fewer rights than wizards without_

The last question was a bit more tricky. Munching on his quill, Sirius thought about it for a while.

Eventually, he added the answer to his parchment.

 _False. While it is true that a transformed werewolf is easily identified by its tufted tail and thin, vertically stretched pupils, there are no defining characteristics for a lycanthrope in human form. Possible indicators can be self-inflicted scars on the forearms, hands, feet, lower legs, inner thighs and sides, disappearances around the full moon and an allergy to silver and aconite._

When the rest of the class had _finally_ gotten the answers – or what they thought would pass for answers, anyway – written down, Professor Stulta cleared his throat.

"Okay, class. I'm going to read a statement out loud. If you think it is false, get up and stand behind you chair. Then, we will hear each side's arguments before I reveal the answer. The first statement is: 'Werewolves are only dangerous during the full moon.'"

Pretty much the whole class got up, including, to Sirius's surprise, Remus.

A moment later, he realised what his friend was trying to accomplish, and got up himself as well.

"No one thinks this statement is true? Excellent, excellent! I don't suppose I have to explain it, then. Now, the next statement...well, read it for yourself."

Sirius barely supressed a snort as he sat back down, already thinking up ways to prank the lazy Professor.

Eventually, they got to statement number six.

"Now, everyone who thinks this is false, get up, please," the Professor said.

Following Remus's lead, Sirius stood up. With some surprise, he noted they were the only ones to have done so.

"Tsk, tsk," sighed Stulta. "Very well, Mr Lupin. Let's hear it."

"A transformed werewolf can, indeed, be easily identified by the shape of its snout, pupils and tail. However, for a werewolf in human form there are only indicators which might point to the person in question being a werewolf, but don't necessarily have to," Remus explained. Sirius vaguely wondered how he remained so detached while explaining the ways in which he could be exposed.

"Indeed, that is correct. Ten points to...uh..."

"Ravenclaw, Sir," Remus provided. At the start of their second year, the four Heirs had decided they would allow their points to go to their respective ancestors' houses.

"Yes, ten points to Ravenclaw. Class! Pay attention, please."

The class quieted, and Professor Stulta went on.

"Since the magical power required for the Homorphus charm about matches that required for the Patronus charm, which you won't learn until your seventh year, I will be teaching you another way to defend yourselves against werewolves. The spell I'm going to teach you is also extremely useful in identifying werewolves in their human-like form.

Sirius wondered why Stulta called it human-like form and not human form, the prejudiced buffoon.

"Does anyone have an idea of what this spell might be?" Stulta asked.

"The Argentupos spell, sir!" an overexcited Ravenclaw blurted out. "It's a silver wall!"

"Correct, Miss Skeeter, though your wording could use some work. The Argentupos spell has long been contained within the ancient families of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Recently, however, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Bartemius Crouch Senior allowed it to be published in a number of books, thus making the spell available for the common witch or wizard.

"Today I will be teaching you how to cast it. Be warned though, that- what's this?"

A note had suddenly appeared in front of Stulta's desk.

"It would seem Professor McGonagall has requested you come to her office, Mister Lupin," the Professor announced after reading it, frowning.

-MWPP-

"You requested to see me, Ma'am?" Minerva heard Lupin ask. Looking up, she noticed he was hovering in the doorway of her office.

"Oh, Mister Lupin. Come in, please, and have a seat," she said, marking the last of the first-year essays and pushing them gently aside.

The boy was clearly nervous, Minerva mused. His hands were shaking slightly, and he had his head bowed.

"Have a biscuit," she suggested, holding out the tin of ginger newts.

"Thank you, Professor," Lupin replied, taking one out and nibbling on it.

"There are several things I wish to discuss with you. First of all, it has come to my attention that Professor Stulta has been teaching you the Argentupos spell." Minerva shook her head disapprovingly. She would most certainly be talking to that idiot. "Which is why I've called you here during class. I imagine Madam Pomfrey would be most displeased to find you covered in burns."

Her attempt at humour worked. Lupin lifted his head slightly and hesitantly smiled.

"I would also like for you to remind your friends of the fact that they _are_ Heirs, and supposed to organise events for the promotion of inter-house unity. Between you and me, Mr Lupin," she lowered her voice, "that can be interpreted in a number of ways. Transforming the Great Hall into a swimming pool, for example, would be certain to force students to work together."

Lupin burst out laughing, and Minerva smiled to herself. Much better. The boy really shouldn't be so glum.

A gentle chime sounded throughout the castle, signalling class had ended.

"You had better get back to your friends, Mr Lupin. I shudder to think what mischief they may have caused in your absence."

At this, Lupin hurried through the doors, seemingly having realised that they were, in fact, talking about Potter and Black, who couldn't be left unsupervised for so much as a second.

Though, if they'd pranked Stulta, she wouldn't be too angry, Minerva mused to herself.

-MWPP-

"A swimming pool? That's super advanced magic!" Peter protested upon hearing McGonagall's suggestion.

"It doesn't have to be a swimming pool," mused Remus, "as long as it 'promotes inter-house unity'."

The other three boys burst out laughing at the spot-on imitation of the Deputy Headmistress.

"We could always glue their butts to the benches in the Great Hall," suggested James.

"Uh, how would that help?" Sirius frowned, throwing himself onto Remus's bed and dislodging James in the process, who then proceded to pummel his much-too-large friend with a cushion.

"Ow! That hurts!" whined Sirius.

"Shouldn't have shoved me off the bed, you pillock!"

" _No fighting, children_ ," Remus admonished in an unnaturally high-pitched voice, hands on his hips.

This caused Pete to laugh so hard he wet himself. At the incredulous looks from the other three, he mumbled:

"I don't want to go to Madam Pomfrey, okay?! _Scourgify_!"

"Guys!" cried Remus, who was lounging on Sirius's bed. "I've got an idea!"

-MWPP-

THURSDAY, 25th JANUARY 1973

"Where'd the bathroom go?" an incredulous Molly Prewett asked her boyfriend. They were standing in front of what normally was the boy's bathroom, but only the wall was visible.

"No idea, darling," Amos Diggory replied, hopping up and down with his legs crossed, "but I _really_ need to use it."

"I can see that, Amos. D'you think it's those four scoundrels again?"

"I don't know, but I- aaah."

"Eeew!" cried Molly, jumping away. "Why didn't you go in your dormitory?"

Amos mumbled something about wood and mornings.

Molly frowned. What was so special about the wood in the fifth-year Hufflepuff boy's dormitory?

-MWPP-

"How long do you think it'll be before they figure the riddles out?" Remus wondered.

"What riddles?" asked Sirius, munching on his bacon.

"Sirius, Rem explained it to you three times this morning!" James sighed, reaching for the eggs.

" _Sirius, Rem explained it to you three times this morning!_ " repeated Sirius in a sing-song voice.

James groaned in a very put-upon way before quickly rattling off:

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck would chuck wood?"

Sirius just sat there, mouth hanging open and showing off his bacon.

"A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would chuck if a woodchuck would chuck wood," Remus chimed in.

Peter's jaw had fallen to the floor as well.

"That's right. Shut up," said James, while giving Remus a high-five.

Just then, a message appeared above the Head Table.

 _Dear fellow students_

 _You might have noticed that all bathrooms in the castle are currently inaccessible. That is because they are under the Fidelius Charm, which, as the teachers very well know, cannot be undone by anyone except the caster, so Minnie, you can sit back down._

There was a burst of laughter as everyone watched a blushing Professor McGonagall return to her chair.

 _The goal of this is to, in the words of our dear Minnie, 'promote inter-house unity'. Because of that, you will all be forced to work together._

 _The secret-keepers have divided the twenty-eight student bathrooms among themselves. The teacher bathrooms are under the Fidelius charm as well, but the teachers have been told where they are. They cannot reveal those locations to anyone else, though, so you can all return to the benches._

A mobbing of the teachers was narrowly avoided as the student body of Hogwarts sat back down.

 _As you might know, Hogwarts has seven floors. On each floor there are two girls' bathrooms and two boys' bathrooms._

 _Each of those bathrooms has received a code. These codes start with a number, which refers to the floor. The second character is either a G or a B, referring to gender._

 _Each code is linked to two scraps of parchment, written by the secret-keeper and containing the location of the bathroom. To obtain those, you will need to work together._

 _The first-years have received the first-floor bathrooms, the second-years the second-floor bathrooms, and so on._

 _Each year will be divided into girls and boys. Then, they will be divided into groups containing a single member from every house._

 _The first of those groups will receive a challenge. Once solved, the second group will receive the next challenge._

 _Finally, the last group will receive the code for their scrap of parchment, which must be written on both walls where the bathrooms used to be. Then, the scrap of parchment will appear before the eyes of all girls or boys, depending on what bathroom it is._

 _(For example:_

 _The first-year girls solve the last riddle. They write the codes on the walls, and everyone receives the scrap of parchment for those two bathrooms.)_

 _Good luck!_

 _The Heirs_

 _PS, you might want to try Vanishing or Scourgifying spells in the meantime._

"Silence!" commanded Dumbledore. "Now, as it so happens it is up to me to divide you."

With a flick of his wand, everyone except the Heirs suddenly found their wrists bound to each other in groups of four.

A roar rose up from the Great hall as the students prepared to attack the Heirs.

They, having seen this coming, touched their fingers to the Portkey they'd lain between them, and disappeared.

A collective groan erupted from the students as they realised that yes, this really was happening.

-MWPP-

SUNDAY, 18th MARCH 1973

It was a typical Sunday afternoon for the Marauders. Remus and Peter were attempting to get their homework done – quite difficult with Sirius Black around, but they were trying anyway – while Sirius sat around doing nothing, and James browsed some Quidditch magazines.

"Oi, Rem?" James called out from Remus's bed, from which he, as usual, had been chased away.

"Yes, _Jim_?" snapped Remus. He was _so close_ to grasping that Potions theory, but it continued to elude him like a mouse would a cat.

Sirius snickered.

"Don't call me that!" whined James. "Anyhow, do you think I can get on the Quidditch team if I've got a Nimbus 1900?"

"That's bribery, James," scolded Peter, before clapping his hands over his mouth as if he couldn't quite believe he'd stood up to someone.

"And they still haven't forgiven us for those Fidelius Charms," reminded Remus, lips quirking at the memory. That had been one of their better ideas, if he said so himself.

"How was your Herbology essay, Rem?" inquired Peter, frowning at his textbook.

"I swear, why does everyone keep calling me that?!" Remus exclaimed in frustration. "And I was...ill that day, but maybe you can ask Sirius."

He hadn't really been ill, of course, though he wished that'd been the case.

No, he'd had to go to the Ministry to get his non-feral status renewed. It had been truly horrid; they injected him with silver and had him touch aconite. His feral-ness was then determined by the strength of his reaction.

Grimly, Remus wondered what would happen if they subjected Greyback, the werewolf who bit him, to those tests.

"It was a piece of cake!" boasted Sirius, startling Remus out of his reverie. Carefully observing his friend's face, he raised half an eyebrow.

"You didn't do it, did you." It wasn't a question, more of a statement.

"I don't even know where my quill is," shrugged Sirius, leaning back on his elbows. His frame took up the whole of his bed, and Remus tried not to stare.

Even after a year, he still found it a bit disconcerting that Sirius looked to be no less than seventeen.

-MWPP-

"Sirius?" Peter's voice whispered.

"Yes?" murmured Sirius drowsily.

Neither of them was aware of the other two boys listening in on their conversation.

A slight shuffling occurred as Peter pushed the hangings aside and went to sit on Sirius's bed.

"Something's up with Rem."

'Rem' bristled as he heard that damned nickname _again_. He wondered if there existed such a thing as a hex that filled the victim's mouth with something disgusting every time they said a certain word.

If so, he wouldn't rest until he found it.

"And what would that be?" mumbled Sirius through a yawn.

"His grandmother died three times now."

Sirius was trying very hard not to laugh. His friend really needed to keep better track of his excuses.

"So?" he said, pretending to see nothing wrong with that statement.

"So?!" repeated Peter incredulously. "No one has three grandmothers!"

While James bit his lip to keep from correcting that last statement, Remus was panicking. His hands, having disconnected from his brain, were clutching the blankets, and he was struggling to control his breathing.

"Um, well..." mumbled Sirius, fidgeting slightly. What to say, what to say?

"You know!" accused Peter, pointing his finger at Sirius's chest before looking at it in surprise.

James, who was finding this conversation far too intriguing to interrupt, frowned; something wasn't adding up, here. He couldn't really recall the two sleeping – or at least, he thought they were sleeping – boys acting oddly during the last months.

Which meant that either Peter was talking out of his arse – quite likely, really – or Sirius had known for a lot longer.

But how could he have? James had been keeping track of the ill-falling members of Remus's family himself, and last month was, indeed, the third time his Gran had died. Thus, Sirius couldn't have discovered this on his own any earlier, but neither of them had shown any weird behaviour.

He felt like pulling his hair out.

-MWPP-

MONDAY, 19th MARCH 1973

It was shaping up to be an awful day, James thought.

First they'd had to spend twenty minutes attempting to wake Remus up, before Sirius suggested he'd hang back.

Peter had peed his pants twice at breakfast, spilled the pumpkin juice over his lap, and managed to hit James in the face while attempting to catch his mail. An owl had crapped on his head, and to make matters worse, Remus and Sirius _still_ hadn't shown up, forcing the other half of the Marauders to depart for Transfiguration without them.

Ten minutes into McGonagall's lecture, Peter had lost Hufflepuff ten house points, James had snapped two of his quills, and still there was no sign of their friends.

Finally, another three snapped quills and one spilled inkwell later, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," snapped McGonagall, who was decidedly not happy to be interrupted in the middle of her lecture.

A very put-upon looking Sirius came in, tugging Remus, who seemed to be dead on his feet, along.

"Late again, are we, Mr Black?"

"Yes, I do hope I'm not pregnant," sighed Sirius, the attempt at humour sounding suspiciously feeble.

"Fifteen points from Slytherin for cheek and lateness. Take a seat."

"Shouldn't she have taken points from Rem too?" whispered Peter in what he obviously thought was a conspicuous manner.

"Five points from Hufflepuff, Mr Pettigrew! Now kindly remain silent, before I am forced to give you a detention."

Peter pouted, but James was much too preoccupied with Remus and Sirius to see.

Remus leaned heavily on his friend, who gently stroked his back in what appeared to be a soothing manner. He would nod off, but not get called on by McGonagall, before Sirius nudged him.

This repeated itself a number of times. By the end of the lesson, James had made plans to storm up to the duo and ask them _what the hell was going on._

Just as he had gathered all his supplies, he saw Remus and Sirius disappear through the door.

"Something is up, Pete," he stated darkly, "and I'm going to find out what."

Peter nodded frantically, perhaps scared of something in his friend's tone.

-MWPP-

TUESDAY, 20th MARCH 1973

It was noon when they finally cornered him.

Sirius had known James and Peter were suspecting something for a while now, and tried to avoid them as much as possible.

Avoiding someone was a little hard to do when they had you pinned to the wall, though.

They were in a locked stall in the boy's bathroom on the ground floor, James pinning Sirius to the door, and Pete standing on the closed toilet.

"So, it seems like I haven't seen you in a while," James casually stated, tilting his head to one side.

"We live in the same dorm!" Sirius choked out. He could have easily pushed James away had he wanted to, but that would arise even more suspicion. He was supposed to have the body of a twelve-year old, after all – though he couldn't believe no one had caught on yet. He didn't exactly look twelve.

"You know what I mean," said James, pushing Sirius against the door just a little harder. It creaked in its hinges.

"Listen, mate, this is none of your business," growled Sirius. "Just stay out of it."

"It is our business, you're our friends," Peter timidly put in.

"And what would not be our business, exactly?" asked James coolly, eyes hard.

Sirius cursed. He shouldn't have let that slip.

"Where is Remus, anyway?" questioned Peter.

Pressing his lips tightly together, Sirius shook his head. He would not betray his friend.

"Fine," said James disgustedly, opening the stall and shoving Sirius away, who landed on his arse. "We'll find out anyway."

Scrambling to get up, Sirius ran to the infirmary. Entering, he yanked open the curtains around Remus's bed.

"Whassup?" he drowsily murmured.

"We've got a problem," panted Sirius, settling down on the edge of Remus's bed. "James just pinned me to the wall, demanding to know what was up with you."

"Shit!" exclaimed Remus, suddenly fully awake. Panic filled his green eyes. "You didn't tell him, did you?"

"Of course not, but I doubt he'll give up." Sirius hesitated, gripping his friend's hand tightly. "Have you considered...telling them?"

"Would you?" Remus fired back.

"No," he honestly answered. "But you're so much braver than I am, and I know it bothers you to lie to them."

"I'll...think about it," sighed Remus. "Now would you please stop breaking my fingers?"


	7. Y2 - Chapter Seven

**Story Title:** These Four Heirs

 **Summary:** There are not one, but two Dark creatures among the Marauders. Oh, and all four of them are descended from the Founders. This can only spell trouble... Features non-evil!Wormtail, vampire!Sirius, Wolfstar and Jily

 **Warnings:** Prejudiced twelve-year olds, werewolf-related stuff, mentions of female menstruation, bullying, French cursing

 **Rating:** T

 **Disclaimer:** I am not JK Rowling. No profit is being made from this, and no infringement of copyright is intended. I am in no way affiliated with the author of Harry Potter. The Potterverse does not belong to me.

 **A/N:** I'm very sorry if I butchered the French!

-MWPP-

SATURDAY, 24th MARCH 1973

Remus, who had come to retrieve his favourite jumper for the evening, stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw the state of the dorm.

Papers littered the floor, all covered in crossed-out diagrams and short sentences.

"UGH!" he heard James exclaim.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Remus tentatively asked.

"Eek!" squealed Peter, grabbing papers and hiding them behind his back.

"Don't bother, Pete," said James, eyes cold as steel. He then suddenly drew his wand, whispering something and pointing it at Remus, who didn't have time to do anything except watch with widened eyes as a silver mist erupted from it, which sped toward him.

He barely managed to raise his hands, and screamed as the solid silver wall burned them. Falling back on his knees, he frantically blew on his burned palm, tears trickling down his face.

He knew what this meant. He knew, he knew, they knew.

-MWPP-

"What's going on here?!" yelled Sirius, bursting through the door. Upon spotting the silver wall, his face clouded. He rushed over to Remus, who was sobbing softly, burned palms up in the air, and immediately enveloped him in a hug, cradling the distraught werewolf close to his chest.

"Shh, we're going to Madam Pomfrey, everything's going to be alright," he soothingly whispered. Remus only sobbed in response, shaking.

"Like she'll treat him," James sneered. "He'll just get expelled, as he should have been months ago!"

At those words, Remus wrenched himself free, blindly running away.

As soon as his dear friend disappeared through the doors of his own dorm, Sirius got up from the ground, advancing on James, who had the decency to look slightly pale.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he shouted at the messy-haired boy, his much larger frame towering over the- the- the _asshole_!

"What is wrong with _you_?" countered James. "He's a fucking Dark creature!"

Stung, Sirius reeled back.

"He's my _friend_." The last word was spit in James's face at the same time Sirius swung his fist back, landing a punch right in the middle of his one-time friend's face.

Realising Peter had disappeared at some point, he immediately got worried, not even caring if James would retaliate.

 _He could tell someone._

-MWPP-

Remus ran. He didn't know where he was going, he just ran. Away, away, away from the sneers, the hate, the broken friendships laying in pieces on the ground.

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, he arrived before a huge pair of doors.

The library. Quietly, as unobtrusively as he could manage, he entered it, tiptoeing toward the back aisles, where he'd be undisturbed; no one would find him there.

As if they'd even search.

The thought caused him to lose what little composure he'd regained. A choked sob escaped his throat as he crumbled to the ground.

"Uh, are you okay?" an uncertain voice asked.

Startled, Remus looked up. It was Lily, the Potions genius from Gryffindor.

"Not really, no," he softly said.

She crouched down, holding out her hand.

"How about we go down to the kitchens? The elves always know just what to do to cheer you up."

Flabbergasted, Remus nodded. Why wasn't she asking any questions?

-MWPP-

Lily wondered what had happened to Lupin – everyone knew the Heirs' names – to get him so upset. For now, though, she'd simply bring him down to the kitchens with her. She'd been going there anyway, after picking up an old favourite from the library. Her second ever period had just started, and all she wanted was chocolate and a warm blanket.

But, well, she could hardly leave him there on the floor, now could she?

Lost in thought, she only realized they were at the kitchens when she ran into a dead end. She turned back around, quickly finding the painting of the fruit bowl and tickling the pear.

Lupin said nothing, presumably too upset to respond to what she assumed was a section of the castle he hadn't known.

"Mistress Lily!" an elf squealed as soon as she stepped through the portrait.

"Hello, Milly. Could you bring us some hot chocolate, chocolate snacks and two blankets, please?"

"Right away, Miss! Milly will care for Miss and Miss's guest!"

"Come on," Lily gently said, tugging Lupin along in the direction of a brown, weathered couch, upon which two blankets were already spread open.

Giving her a grateful smile, he snuggled against the edge of the couch, navy blue blanket clutched between his fingers.

She said nothing for a moment, thinking about how best to comfort him.

"Here is yous hot chocolate, Miss!" Milly, who had popped over, announced, setting two steaming mugs on a coffee table. "Milly be right back with snacks!"

"Thank you, Milly," said Lily with a small smile, reaching out for the cup of hot chocolate. It was only the beginning of spring, so a chill could still very much be felt in the air.

"So..." they both began at the same time. Lily laughed slightly, gesturing for Lupin to go first.

"So, I should probably tell you why you found me in such a state," Lupin, who had calmed down significantly, sighed.

"You don't have to."

"No, but-"

Another house-elf, whom she recognised as Skanky, had appeared, with a tray of snacks balanced on his head.

"Here is yous snacks, Miss!" the elf excitedly squeaked, setting the tray, which was filled with chocolate delicacies, down.

"Thank you, Skanky," said Lily graciously.

As soon as the elf had popped away, she motioned for Lupin to go on.

"So, well... I guess someone...you promise you won't tell?"

"Of course not!" exclaimed Lily. "I'm not out for gossip, I swear!"

"I believe you," said Lupin. "You don't seem like the type."

"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or insulted, but go on."

"Anyway, someone I trusted found out a secret about me, and they didn't react too well."

He hung his head as he said this, fiddling with the blanket. Lily grimaced. It sounded rather ugly.

"If I find out who it is, I promise I'll hex them into next year," she swore, grabbing a slab of chocolate and offering it to Lupin. "Eat. It'll make you feel better."

"Thanks," he said, smiling that sad smile of his.

-MWPP-

"Ugh!" exclaimed Sirius, staring angrily at a painting of a fruit bowl. "Where is he?!"

Just then, the portrait swung aside, to reveal Remus and – what was her name again? Right, Evans. – chatting like they'd been friends for ages.

Though he felt a little betrayed, Sirius put on a smile and walked forward.

"Remus."

Apparently, it was a bad thing to say, because Remus burst out crying, falling into Sirius's arms.

Evans looked decidedly awkward.

"So, uh, I found him in the library, more or less like this, and I thought I'd take him down to the kitchens for some hot chocolate..." she explained, wringing her hands.

"Thanks," said Sirius. "I couldn't find him anywhere."

"I'm right here, you know," grumbled Remus through tears.

"I know," snickered Sirius. "Come on, let's get you to Madam Pomfrey." He started walking toward the infirmary.

"Madam Pomfrey?" asked Lily in alarm, trailing after him. "He's injured?"

Surprised, Sirius turned back around.

"Nothing much, just a burn," Remus weakly said.

Lily frowned, but took a left at the next corridor, the opposite direction of the infirmary.

-MWPP-

SATURDAY, 31st MARCH 1973

It had been a week, Remus thought morosely as he laid in bed.

A week since he'd lost his friends. These days, little passive-aggressive acts, clearly intended to tick him off, were all that remained as proof they had once been friends; proof they once knew each other.

He wasn't the only one suffering, though. Sirius was just as much of a target as he was, which he knew hurt his friend a lot, since he and James used to be thick as thieves.

Strangely enough, James nor Peter had told anyone – as far as they knew, at least, but no one had come forward, and students behaved the same to him as always.

"And here I am lonely, and here I will die..." Remus almost died from a heart attack when Sirius suddenly began singing. The constant war with their roommates was taking its toll on both of them, and this was his way of venting.

"OUCH!" he suddenly heard Sirius scream.

"What happened?" Remus asked in alarm, sitting up.

"That prat threw a shoe at me!" Sirius indignantly roared. From behind the curtains, shuffling could be heard, which Remus assumed was Sirius preparing to retaliate.

"Don't," he softly said, quiet enough that only Sirius, with his vampire senses, would be able to hear it. "You'll only make it worse."

Sirius sighed, but Remus could hear him laying back down.

"Thanks."

-MWPP-

MONDAY, 2nd APRIL 1973

They were on their way to the Great Hall when Sirius grabbed Remus's hand and pulled him behind a statue.

"Oi! What-"

"Shush, I want to hear," hissed Sirius, clamping a hand over Remus's mouth. About two metres to their left, two girls appeared to be fighting.

"No, Dorcas, I'm not going swimming with you!" one girl yelled.

"Why not?" whined the girl called Dorcas.

"You know why not!" the first girl snapped, turning her back to the other one.

Just then, James and Peter rounded the corner; raising their eyebrows at each other, they halted.

"No I don't!" Dorcas huffed. "Fine, be like that!"

Just as she had almost disappeared, the first girl shouted after her:

"It's my time of the month, okay?"

Sirius had trouble containing his snickers as the girl realised James and Peter had heard what she said.

"Are you a werewolf, McKinnon?" James smoothly asked, walking over to the girl. "Because-"

Next to him, Sirius could feel Remus tense. James never got the chance to finish his sentence, however, as the next moment, McKinnon swung her fist at him, knocking him unconscious.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" a short, red-headed Gryffindor shouted. Upon second glance, Sirius noticed she was A) a prefect, and B) looking rather angry.

"Molly," swallowed McKinnon. "Uh..."

Stepping out from behind the statue, Remus timidly walked forward.

"I, well, I saw it all." Seemingly noticing the threatening look McKinnon gave him, Remus quickly went on. "I didn't mean to overhear! I just didn't want to...disturb you?"

"Well, as listening behind a statue isn't actually forbidden _yet_ , you haven't done anything wrong," the Prefect said. "Would you please tell me what happened?"

"...uh...well, the girl who stormed off a minute ago-"

"Dorcas," McKinnon supplied.

"Yeah, her. She kept asking why she", Remus pointed at McKinnon, "wouldn't go swimming with her, and eventually, uh..."

"I'm Marlene," the girl sighed.

"Eventually Marlene shouted at her that it was her, well, her 'time of the month'."

Sirius nearly laughed out loud at Remus's obvious embarrassment.

"What happened then?" Molly, the Prefect, questioned, hands on her hips.

"Uh, James here walked up to Marlene, and asked if...if she was a werewolf," Remus timidly explained, scratching the back of his neck. "And Marlene punched him."

"Tsk," sighed Molly. "Such a silly boy. As if Dumbledore would ever let a werewolf into the school!"

Remus seemed to shrink, trembling slightly.

Sirius had half a mind to go out there and punch that Prefect.

"Anyhow, thank you, Remus. I'll resolve this matter with the Headmaster."

Remus scrambled off without looking back.

-MWPP-

MONDAY, 9th APRIL 1973

"So, I expect those twelve inches by next week. Dismissed!"

As soon as Professor Flitwick had finished speaking, the whole class got up – or tried to, in Sirius's case.

Remus, who had been about to exit the classroom, watched in worry as Sirius tried multiple times to stand up, and failed each time.

Behind him, he noticed James laughing.

Speaking really softly so only Sirius could hear, he murmured:

"James again."

The prank-like bullying had only gotten worse.

"POTTER!" roared Sirius, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Well, whatcha gonna do, Black? Come and get me?" taunted James, walking closer until he was just out of Sirius's reach. "Huh?"

When James began laughing, Sirius had clearly had enough.

"FERME TA GEULE!" he shouted. "J'EN AI RAL LE CUL!"

"What?" James frowned, trying to figure out what Sirius was saying. Now, Remus might not know French, but he was pretty sure those were insults.

"MONSIEUR BLACK! SOIGNE TA LANGUE!" Professor Flitwick shouted, emerging from the cupboard. Remus hadn't known the small professor could speak French, but it didn't really surprise him. That man had obviously seen an awful lot in his lifetime; no one was even sure how old he was.

"Je suis désolé, Professeur, mais il a collé ma derrière à ma chaise!" Sirius protested.

"Why are you speaking French?!" yelled James. "I don't understand a word of it!"

He was very close to stomping his foot like a girl, Remus mused.

"Excuse me, Professor," Lily, who had stuck her head 'round the doorway, said, "but the Gryffindor lesson is waiting, and, well, we heard shouting..."

"That's alright, Miss Evans. There's a small dispute here, so if you could wait outside a minute? You too, Mister Lupin," said Flitwick upon noticing them.

"What was going on in there?" asked Lily as soon as the door was closed behind them.

"Oh, the usual," Remus sighed, hanging his head.

"They still haven't stopped?! I thought you were friends!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.

"Well, it was a really bad secret," he half-defended, lifting his head slightly to meet her eyes.

"That's no excuse!"

Remus smiled at her in gratitude, but shook his head.

"I mean bad as in _bad_. The kind of thing people get killed for. In fact, I'm just happy they haven't told anyone." It wasn't _really_ a lie. He was happy they hadn't told on him, yes, but he'd much rather have their friendship back.

Out of the blue, Lily wrapped her arms around him.

"If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for you," she whispered, before pulling back and entering her classroom. Looking behind him, Remus spotted Sirius, who was glaring rather severely at James.

"Come on, Sirius," he muttered, attempting to pull his friend with him to the library. He might as well get that essay done.

"We have to go to our dorm," Peter, who was standing behind James, piped up. "Flitwick's orders."

-MWPP-

"I can't believe this!" Minerva McGonagall exclaimed, looking sternly at all four boys. She thought they'd react in an at least passable manner, but it would seem she was wrong.

Potter turned away from her, arms crossed. Lupin just looked at the floor, Pettigrew grew smaller with the minute, and Black...well, she couldn't quite get a read on him.

"I might not be able to force you to treat your roommates decently, but if I hear of one more incident like this, the consequences will be severe."

Leaving the four boys behind, she swept out of the room.


	8. eight

TUESDAY, 17th APRIL 1973

"Are you coming?" Sirius shouted from the corridor.

"I can't find- oh."

Worried, Sirius entered the dorm again, only to see Remus crouched on the floor next to bits of torn paper.

"What's that?" he asked, extending a hand to help his friend up.

"My essay," muttered Remus, gathering the pieces before accepting the hand.

"WHAT?!" Sirius saw red. This had gone too far.

"We are going to McGonagall. Right now."

As the Deputy Headmistress, she was their 'head of house', meaning they could go to her with any problems.

-MWPP-

Minerva McGonagall had to restrain herself from spitting out some very bad words when she heard what had happened.

"You found your essay, torn up," she stated.

"Y-yes, Ma'am," Lupin softly said, hanging his head.

"If you could stay in my office for a moment, please," she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm going to go get the Headmaster."

-MWPP-

"Do you see them?" whispered James under his breath, shooting glances at the doorway. Professor Flitwick was collecting their essays, yet Lupin still hadn't shown up.

Peter rapidly shook his head.

The door opened with a bang, revealing...was that Dumbledore? Yes, yes it was. But the Headmaster didn't look old at all; in fact, he looked positively frightening.

His hair had separated itself into strands, and flew around his head much like James imagined Medusa's would. Purple robes billowing behind him, he strode over to... _their table_?

Dumbledore grabbed James by the collar, electric blue eyes boring into his. He felt something give way in his mind, and soon images were rolling, rolling...being poked into existence, looked at, and stuffed away again.

After what seemed like ages, the pressure stopped. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Dumbledore doing the same to Peter.

Face blank, he eventually released them.

"Misters Potter and Pettigrew, you'll be coming with me," the Headmaster ordered, turning around and sweeping out of the room.

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" snapped Flitwick, face suddenly hostile. "Go along!"

Both of them scrambled after Dumbledore.

-MWPP-

As soon as they entered his office, James sneered. No one else than Lupin was sitting behind the desk, Black perched on the tip of the chair next to him, which had been moved so that the two were practically sitting in each other's lap, Black's arm around Lupin's shoulders.

"Here we are, Mister Lupin," said Dumbledore warmly.

"I don't want to be in the same room as that monster!" yelled James, making for the door again. He suddenly felt a tug at his shoulders, and when he turned back around, he was face to face with an irate looking Dumbledore.

"That'll be twenty points from Gryffindor, now sit." He then pushed James into the chair closest to Remus's other side.

James quickly scooted it away as much as possible.

"Mister Lupin," Dumbledore addressed Lupin. "These two have, indeed, torn up your essay, though I suspect it was mostly Mister Potter. I already have a suitable detention for them in mind, but for now, they'll spend the rest of the day cleaning in the infirmary." Turning his glare on James and Peter, he coolly said:

"If you'd head over there? Madam Pomfrey has already been informed."

Sullenly, they exited the office.

-MWPP-

WEDNESDAY, 18th APRIL 1973

"Where the hell are we?" growled James as he felt along the crumbling, damp walls of the tunnel.

"We don't have to clean in here, do we?" squeaked Peter nervously, following James so closely his head was practically in the other boy's arse.

"Dumbledore said to follow the tunnel and clean up there, but really, how long have we been crawling?!"

Luckily neither of them was claustrophobic, but that didn't mean James liked being on his hands and knees for any length of time.

Especially in a dark tunnel.

"I think I see something," he informed Peter sometime later, squinting to try and make out where the light was coming from.

Reaching what was now clearly a metal door, he was about to open it when a bloodcurdling scream sounded from beyond.

"Do we really have to go through that?" whispered Peter, tugging at James's sleeve.

"It's probably nothing," James attempted to reassure – who, he didn't know.

Taking a deep breath, he attempted to push the door open, but found it locked.

" _Alohomora_." It was the simplest of spells, but would hopefully be enough. Trying again, the door now easily gave way under his hand.

A rather rancid smell assaulted their senses as soon as they entered. James wasn't sure exactly what it was; a mix of wet dog, urine and...blood?

His eyes got as round as saucers.

"Pete, I think I know where we are," he said in a horrified whisper.

The words hung between them.

"No," said Peter.

"Let's go upstairs," James decided, walking forward without checking to see if Peter was following.

-MWPP-

Remus groggily came to his senses.

Though he could see what happened while transformed, he never remembered anything about the transformations except the terrible pain.

Leaving his eyes closed a moment longer, he tried to assess the situation. The skin on his hands and forearms stung, meaning there would be wounds there.

Lovely. Hopefully he'd still be able to use a quill.

Something also appeared to be wrong with his left shin. Remus sighed; it was probably broken.

If that wasn't enough, he knew there would be smaller wounds littering his body, and he had a huge headache from where the wolf had rammed itself against the door over and over.

Suddenly, he heard voices come from downstairs.

"No!" he heard someone say, rather loudly.

"Let's go upstairs," the second voice said – James. It belonged to James.

Suddenly very conscious of the pool of urine around his naked form, Remus had to remind himself he really didn't want to get paralysed, and as such had to remain still.

He kept his eyes closed. At least that way, he'd able to pretend he was unconscious.

Thump, thump, thump. Even though he knew perfectly well it wasn't possible, he still hoped the stairs would cave.

A sharp intake of breath signalled James, and the person he suspected to be Peter, had arrived.

"How can we clean anything if he's still lying there?" Peter, for that was most definitely his voice, grumbled.

"Quiet, Pete," muttered James. "Besides, are we or are we not wizards? _Scourgify_!"

Promptly, the pool of urine that had gathered during his transformation back disappeared. Remus sighed in relief.

He heard the two boys still. After a moment, one hesitantly came closer.

"Remus?" James's voice was close to his ear, so Remus knew he must have crouched down.

"Remus, can you hear us?" James said again. Hearing his given name instead of his surname come out of his former friend's mouth was...nice, actually.

Hesitantly, Remus opened his eyes, blinking against the blinding light.

He saw James reel back. It took him a moment to realise why. So shortly after the transformation, his eyes were still the amber of the wolf.

Dejected, he closed them, wondering when he'd started hoping.

When he heard James approach again, his eyes flew open. What? This wasn't supposed to be happening!

"Are you awake?" asked James, voice trembling slightly. Slowly he extended his hand, not quite close enough to touch; as if he wanted to but didn't dare.

"Yes," whispered Remus hoarsely, looking at his one-time friend beseechingly.

But neither James or Peter said anything more.

-MWPP-

A few hours later, Remus was lying in the Hospital Wing. It wasn't too bad, really. He just had a broken leg, large wounds on his hands and forearms, smaller wounds all over his body and a not-quite-mild concussion.

Across the room, a hushed conversation was taking place. James and Peter, who were serving the remainder of their detention scrubbing out bedpans, were discussing the morning's events.

"I don't know, James," he heard Peter say. "Maybe you should ask Remus?"

"Ask me what?" called out Remus. They'd spoken just loud enough for him to hear.

"You heard?" asked James in surprise.

"...yes," confessed Remus, turning his head away. "The last two sentences, anyway."

"But we were quiet," frowned Peter in confusion.

"It's the werewolf hearing," Remus softly admitted, cringing.

A tense silence followed. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for something even though he didn't know what.

Two pairs of footsteps padded closer.

Remus held his breath as something briefly touched his head.

When he opened his eyes again, James and Peter had disappeared, and he was left to longingly stare at the door.

-MWPP-

"Was it really necessary to throw that thing at my head?" whined Lily as she walked to the infirmary with her friends.

"I'm sorry!" cried Ruby. "I didn't realize it was so heavy!"

"She's just having you on," grinned Amy. "Though I'm sure it must have hurt."

"It did, thank you very much!" Lily swatted her friend on the arm, but she was smiling.

"Huh? What are those two doing there?" asked Ruby.

"Who?" Lily looked around, finally spotting two Heirs leaning against the entrance to the infirmary, seeming rather troubled.

Something clicked in her mind.

"You- you PIGS!" she yelled, charging forward despite Amy's attempts to hold her back.

"Huh?" Potter may have pretended to be confused, but she saw the panicked glance he shot Pettigrew.

Bingo.

"HOW COULD YOU! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU HURT HIM?"

Unbeknownst to her, 'he' was lying in the infirmary just a few metres away, and could hear her perfectly.

"What are you talking about, Evans?" demanded Potter.

"Why, you fucking FRIEND of course!" She saw the idiot's eyes widen at her coarse language. Oh, honestly, she had just as much right to curse as he.

"Shouldn't you be minding your own business or something?" Potter raised his eyebrows. While his tone was cool, his eyes were frigid.

"I am," Lily sharply retorted. "You see, I made a promise to a friend that when I'd find the ones who'd hurt him so badly, I'd hex them into next year."

Potter didn't look impressed.

"Did he even tell you what happened?" Amy gently asked from behind her.

"He told me you shunned him for some secret!"

"It wasn't just 'some secret', Evans," laughed Potter. "If he'd told you, you wouldn't be defending him."

"YES I WOULD!" screamed Lily. "At least I respect other people enough not to go prying into their business!"

"You know what?" said Potter, a cruel smirk playing around his lips. "Why don't I tell you, and we'll see if you're still so taken with him."

At that point, the doors to the infirmary opened, revealing a badly swaying Remus.

"Don't. Please..." he croaked, before sinking to the ground.

"Remus!" exclaimed Lily, rushing over in alarm.

Before she could reach her friend, however, Potter had grabbed her arm, pulling her away.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"I'm doing you a favour. Don't touch him, you'll regret it later."

Out of the corner of her eye, Lily could see Amy hovering over Remus, looking uncertain. Ruby furiously pushed both Amy and Peter away, getting to the boy lying brokenly on the ground.

"You", hissed Lily, "are going to let me go. _Right now._ "

When Potter only smirked at her, she'd had enough.

" _Petrificus Totalus_!" she cried. Potter's eyes widened, before he fell to the ground.

Disgusted, Lily walked over to where Ruby was awkwardly rubbing Remus's back.

"Let's get you back inside," she gently whispered.

-MWPP-

Disorientated, Remus woke up.

"You've had quite the episode out there, Mr Lupin," Madam Pomfrey sternly said. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay here a few more days, until that concussion has healed."

Remus looked away.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Now, I believe you have a few visitors." Her glare softened slightly. "If they don't behave themselves, rest assured I won't hesitate in throwing them out."

She then pulled the curtains aside, revealing rather a lot of people. Lily, Peter, James and Sirius were there, as well as the two girls who'd witnessed the scene. Vaguely, he seemed to recall their names being Ruby and Amy, but he hadn't a clue who was who.

A tense silence followed.

Lily eventually cleared her throat.

"Shouldn't we get some chairs?" she hesitantly asked.

The other two girls, nodding, joined her in gathering chairs from all over the infirmary.

When there were enough, everyone sat down. Lily, Amy and Ruby were sitting to the right of his bed, with Lily closest and the other two slightly behind her. James and Peter sat on his left side, as far away as the curtains would allow.

Sirius merely smirked at his chair and rather ungracefully plonked himself down on the foot of the bed.

Silence.

"Uh, what are you guys all doing here?" Remus eventually asked.

Awkward pause.

Sirius spoke first.

"I'm making sure those two," he jutted his chin out in James's and Peter's direction, "behave."

James furrowed his brow, seeming on the verge of erupting.

"We're visiting," Lily quickly interceded. "We wanted to make sure you were alright, so..."

"Thank you," replied Remus. "And, uh, sorry about what happened out there." He shot a glance at Peter and James.

They were looking mightily offended.

"We just came to say sorry!" yelled James, standing up and making to leave. "But since you obviously don't want us here..."

"Now wait just a minute!" yelled Sirius. In a flash, he had James pinned to the wall. " _You_ were the one who left, so you are _not_ the one making demands." He bared his teeth. "If anything, you should be on your knees, grovelling!"

"Isn't that a touch dramatic?" Amy questioned.

"I think we'd better leave," muttered Lily. "Bye, Remus."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek before gathering up her friends and leaving.

-MWPP-

"But he could eat us in our sleep!" exclaimed Peter, panicked.

Sirius watched in confusion as Remus's face seemed to clear up.

"Of course," the werewolf sighed. "Sirius, _let go_."

Grudgingly, he did as he was told.

-MWPP-

"I...don't know, but..." Remus hesitated, taking a deep breath.

"Spit it out," said James, not unkindly.

"What do you know about- about werewolves?" It was making it or breaking it, now.

James and Peter looked at one another in confusion.

"Well, they're-" Peter paused, shooting Remus an apologetic look. "They're bloodthirsty monsters, who spend the whole month planning the demise of their next victim."

"They're not able to think of anything but the taste of human blood," James added. Sirius seemed slightly uncomfortable.

"They're hairy, gross, violent, and despise humans," Peter continued.

"Yeah! They- they-" James was cut short as Remus started howling with laughter. Wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, he smiled.

"Congratulations, you just described a completely feral werewolf," he snickered.

At a look from Sirius, he sobered up.

"What you just said isn't quite true. Feral werewolves, they're like that. Those are the ones who, while they transform back into human form, keep the mind of the wolf.

"Otherwise, the wolf's mind is just a voice in the background, like the one that sounds like your mother and is always saying you should do your homework. At least", he blushed, "I have a voice like that."

James and Peter stared at each other, mouths wide open.

Peter was the first to recover. He scratched his neck awkwardly.

"So, does that mean you're not..."

"Nope," said Remus cheerfully. "Though I've half a mind to gobble you up for how you treated us."

When Peter seemed to shrink back, Remus quickly held his hand up.

"Joking, I'm only joking! Besides, that's not even possible."

"What do you mean?" said James, frowning. "One bite from you and we'll be cursed too!"

"Not in human form," said Remus seriously. "When I'm transformed, I want you to stay miles away from me. But in human form, only feral wolves are contagious, and even then you won't transform completely, just get some wolf-like characteristics."

"And...you're not feral?" asked Peter."

"No," Remus quietly murmured. "I'm not."

He felt rather hurt. How could they even think that?

Sirius, seeming to sense his distress, scooted closer and wrapped an arm around him.

"Shh, Rem, they're just idiots."

"Don't call me that!" whined Remus.

James hesitantly looked at Sirius before carefully perching himself on the edge of the bed.

Remus, hope overtaking him, rested his head against James's shoulder, sighing contentedly.

When the other boy flinched away slightly, he immediately lifted his head.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have touched you," muttered Remus, looking anywhere but at James.

Inside, his heart was breaking. If his friends couldn't accept him even now, this truly was the end for them.

-MWPP-

James studied Remus carefully. He seemed...defeated. Broken. A tear slowly trickled down his face, landing on James's hand.

"Hey," he softly whispered.

Remus didn't look up.

"I'm sorry, Rem. I'm...I'm so very sorry."

He slowly, cautiously extended his hand, still not entirely comfortable touching a werewolf.

 _No._ He wasn't touching a werewolf; he was touching Remus, his friend.

He extended his hand, gently laying it on Remus's shoulder, who seemed to crumble under the touch.

Concerned, James wrapped his other arm around Remus's shoulders, pulling him close to his chest – all reserves forgotten when he started sobbing

"Shh. I'm sorry. We're fine, I'm sorry. Shh. You'll always be my friend."

When Remus didn't stop crying, James shot a worried look over at Sirius, who just shrugged, as if to say 'you caused this, now deal with it'.

"Hey." James gently lifted Remus's chin. "You're okay. I'm sorry, Remus. I'm so sorry."

Hesitantly, softly, like a puppy that had been kicked one too many times, Remus reached out a hand, laying it on James's back and resting his head against his chest.

"Sorry," Remus sniffed, wiping at his face.

"You haven't got anything to be sorry for, okay? You're amazing, and I'm sorry I hurt you."

Remus smiled a watery smile, before falling asleep.

"Shit!" exclaimed Sirius, jumping off the bed and running toward the nurse's office.

"He just fell asleep," frowned James, before it dawned on him.

No one fell asleep that fast.

He clutched Remus closer to him, praying to whoever was listening he'd still have his friend after this; that he'd still get a chance to properly apologize.

In the heat of the moment, he didn't notice Peter missing.

"You're gonna be okay," whispered James as he stroked Remus's hair, wishing he believed himself.

Wishing he hadn't been so stupid.

 _ **A/N**_

 ** _What a cliffhanger!_**

 ** _I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm really not. Hey, at least I updated!_**

 ** _As you might have noticed, I changed the formatting of the previous chapters, fixed the problem with the dates (Thanks for that! You know who you are :P), and just added small improvements._**

 ** _As an example, we'll take chapter one._**

 ** _If it's formatted like this:_**

 ** _Y1 - Chapter One_**

 ** _Then it's the correct, improved version._**

 ** _If it's formatted like this:_**

 ** _one_**

 ** _Then it's the temporary version!_**

 ** _The reason for this is that I sometimes make small changes to previous chapters while writing, so that everything lines up properly._**

 ** _Also, just because Remus forgives rather easily, doesn't mean I think it's okay/advisable to._**

 ** _My morals are NOT reflected in my characters, and I don't think they should be. Please keep that in mind; just because a character thinks/says it, does not mean it's my opinion/I agree with it._**

 ** _On a different note, we see some more Lily! I've got a whole set of dormmates worked out for her. Complex, real characters, I think. At least, that's what I aimed for, but OC's are difficult._**

 ** _Don't worry, the focus won't really be on them, and romance won't come into play anytime soon, since right now, they're twelve._**

 ** _Updates are still sporadical, though if they take longer than a month and a half or so, I'm willing to send anyone who writes a long review whatever I have written at that point (it may still be subject to change!)._**

 ** _If I haven't updated by 16th September, feel free to pm/poke me. It actually does make update faster, so don't hesitate._**

 ** _Also, I'm still looking for a beta!_**

 ** _Hopelijk heb je van dit hoofdstuk genoten en tot ziens,_**

 ** _RodeRozen_**

 ** _PS, Google Translate's your friend if you want to know what that last sentence was ;)_**


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